Dangerous Game
by StayWithMeForTheKids
Summary: AU/: Hate can blind you from a hidden love. But when that Hate is stripped away, does that Love become easy to see?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys so I'm back with a new story this time! Don't worry, I will continue updating NSN but I just really wanted to get the concept of this one out there for you all to read!**

**The idea came to me whilst watching the London 2012 Olympics over the summer-especially the woman's football. Well done to USA for your win!**

**I will be referring football as Soccer so not to confuse my American readers.**

**Anyway, this is kind of a taster chapter to see if you guys enjoy it and if I should continue writing.**

**Oh and also, my head canon for Judy and Russell is that they are very accepting of gays and also Quinn never had Beth and Shelby never re-entered Rachel's life, I never really enjoyed the SHELBY-Rachel story line in Season 1 so...This is obviously AU. and set during S2.**

**ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.**

* * *

Sweat drips down her face, collecting in pools at the dip of her collar bone. Her feet pound against the dewy grass as her thighs burn in exertion. Her breathing comes out laboured as her lungs fight to regain they oxygen they lost. Her heart bounces about in her rib cage so fast that she feels it might break out of its confinement.

Adrenaline pumps through her lean body as her eyes look around her, trying to find a clear spot amongst the chaos around her.

Shouts are heard, cries of pain are hauled into the crisp Autumn-y air. Bodies run past her, trying to stop her from getting to her goal.

She takes no notice of them, her eyes firmly planted onto the cool, collected eyes of her teammate's. With one look they silently exchange words. With a burst of adrenaline, she pushes herself harder and runs into a clearing. As soon as she does so, the team mate kicks the ball over to her, the black and white ball flies over the heads of her opponents straight to her feet.

Quick as a flash, she's making her way down the field, dodging the attacks she's getting thrown at her. She's almost there, almost able to taste the victory on her tongue as the clock ticks the seconds away in her head.

She's about to make it, however, as she goes to push more force into the ball, an unexpected force collides into her feet, sending her over the ball and head first onto the grass. Sticking her arms out, she softens her landing and allows herself to roll through the green blades and land on her back.

Her eyes screw tight shut when the whistle sounds, not signalling a foul, no. Signalling the end of the game.

She groans and smacks her forehead. When she opens her eyes again, she's faced with the only thing she hates, the only thing she despises. The face of her.

Evil brown eyes twinkle down at her, a evil, sadistic smile tracing her lips. The bright blue uniform bores down at her with as much arrogance as the person wearing said uniform.

This couldn't be any worse...but then, they speak.

"Oops, sorry" their voice says with false sincerity "let me help you up" a small, tanned hand reaches down towards her.

Her eyes turn to slits as she stares between the hand and said owner of the hand.

"Like hell you will" the annoyed, gruff sound of her beast friend says, coming into view and viciously pushing the other out of the way.

"Calm down Lopez" They say, still smirking at her as Lopez helps her up from the ground.

"I'll calm down when you grow a few inches taller Berry." Lopez says with a growl before turning to the girl in her arms "You alright Quinn?"

She places a hand on her shoulder and nods "Santana, let me" she whispers in Santana's ear before stepping between her and Berry.

She dust grass off of her shorts and clears her throat "Fair game, Berry. Shame it was only a friendly" she says, smiling sweetly at her opponent.

"Yes, shame, because if it wasn't a friendly...we would've destroyed you and your pathetic team" the evil smirk turns into a snarl as Berry speaks.

"We only drew because the ref didn't call you out on your foul. What did you bribe him with this time? A blow job behind the bleachers after the game? Or did you already do it? Someone should tell him to get his dick checked out, god knows what STI's are crawling around in that shit hole you call a mouth"

Brown eyes flare up in anger at her words and she takes a menacing step towards the blonde captain "I wouldn't push me if I was you, Fabray" Berry warns, her face getting close to Quinn's.

"Oh I'm just getting started Berry" Quinn growls back.

"Girls, shake hands and leave, I don't want any trouble on my pitch!" The ref says, walking up to the two bickering girls.

Barley containing their disgust, the girls shake hands. As Quinn goes to walk away, Berry tugs on her hand forcefully, bringing their bodies flush together, her breath blowing into Quinn's ear.

"You think this is the end of it? Oh I'm just letting you off easy sweet cheeks. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. I'll see you at the Tournament" she growls before pulling back and jogging over to her coach and team.

Quinn watches the smaller girl go, her anger slowly starting to go. Her eyes land on the wiggling bum of her rival for a moment. She bites her lip and tilts her head to the side. Upon catching herself, she shakes her head vigorously and walks away to Roz Washington (otherwise known as Black Sue by the team) and the rest of her waiting team.

"Never in my life have I seen such poor play happen on the pitch" Roz's voice floats over to Quinn when she finally arrives, standing next to Santana. They both look at each other and roll their eyes, knowing Roz is going to go off on a rant whilst throwing in some harmful comments in there. "Little miss petunia here" Quinn looks over, realising Roz is talking about her "Was only just able to keep possession of the ball before the little brown ball of annoying ran over and attacked her"

"She came out of nowhere Coach, we tried to stop her" A blue haired girl-Ramona-says from next to Quinn.

"I do not care where she came from, your job is to keep her away from Fabray. I did not win three bronze medals at the Beijing Olympics in synchronised swimming or bring our Female Olympic soccer team to victory in the recent London Olympic Games on _trying_. I did and that's it. Get your sorry asses into the locker rooms"

The girls on the team all grumble, not to happy about going to the lockers. Because of how cheap Figgins is, he would not allow the soccer team to have two different shower rooms-one for the McKinley Soccer Team and one for their opponents and so they have to share them. This, Quinn was dreading.

She doesn't know when, why or how her feud with Berry started, it just did. She remembers the day Berry and her Dad's moved into the house next to hers as if it was yesterday.

* * *

_Ten years ago_

_Seven year old Quinn sits on her doorstep, watching in excitement as removal men carry the furniture of their new neighbours into the house next door. She's been waiting to see any hint of their being a kid her age living there. So far, she's been disappointed. She's been sat out there as soon as she heard the moving Van pull up and watched as lots and lots of boxes were taken out the back._

_No one else has turned up yet, it's just been the removal men bringing in a dining table, chairs, coffee table, settee's and a few Beds. The boxes they carry are taped up, stopping Quinn from seeing what's inside._

_She stands on her tiptoes, peering over the fence when she hears the sound of a baby. Her eyes light up in excitement when she spots a baby doll poking out of one of the boxes, obviously the source of the baby sounds. They have a child! Finally she'll have someone to play with!_

_Green eyes dart over to the street when the sound of a car pulling up fills her senses. She watches as a tall, dark skinned, scary looking man steps out of the driver's side, soon followed by a smaller, pale man with thick rimmed glasses. The taller man steps round the car and hugs the smaller one, placing a kiss to his head-much like Daddy does with Mum. _

_Quinn's eyebrows furrow together at the sign of affection. Can a Man and a Man show affection to each other like Daddy and Mum?_

"_What are you doing Quinnie?" Quinn hears her Mum walk out of the house and walk down the path to her, placing a caring hand on her head._

"_Mum, can a Man kiss another Man?" Quinn asks._

"_Of course, love is love, no matter where it comes from" Judy finally spots who Quinn was referring to "Russell! Our new neighbours are here!" Judy calls into the home._

_Quinn becomes confused as she sees more and more children toys leave the moving Van, but still no sign of a child. They even walk past with a swing set at one point, but the child still has yet to be seen._

_The two Men spot Quinn and Judy watching and approach them with big smiles on their faces. The taller, scarier Man holds his hand out for Judy to shake. Quinn's eyes widen at how large his hands are._

"_Hello, I'm Leroy Berry and this is my Husband Hiram Berry, I take it you're our neighbours" The taller man-Leroy-says._

_Judy smiles back and shakes his hand, moving to shake Hiram's as well "Judy Fabray. My Husband will be out in a minute to welcome you"_

_Right on time, Russell appears at Quinn's left side and immediately picks her up "Hey kiddo!" he says, tickling her sides. Quinn giggles, hitting away her Daddy's hands._

_Russell finally notices the new additions to the neighbourhood and smiles "Hello I'm Russell Fabray, this is our Daughter, Quinn" He holds out a hand to Leroy._

_Leroy exchanges pleasantries with Quinn's Daddy, introducing Hiram in the same manner as he did to Judy. He watches Russell closely when he says Husband, watching to see any kind of negative reaction. Russell's smile grows bigger and doesn't bat an eyelid at the mention of Hiram and he treats him pleasantly. Leroy lets out an exhale of air._

"_Rachel, our daughter, is here somewhere"_

"_Most likely bossing the removal men about" Hiram says with a roll of his eyes._

"_How old is Rachel?" Judy asks._

_Quinn looks round for any sight of this girl, eager to know how old she is._

"_She's going to be seven in December"_

"_DAAADDDYYYY!" A voice of an angry girl comes travelling through the house, followed by the stomping of feet._

"_Speaking of the devil" Hiram says with a good natured roll of his eyes, making Russell and Judy giggle._

_Quinn's eyes widen as they land on an angry brown haired girl. She stops stomping to look up at her Dad's with an angry pout. Quinn can't take her eyes off of her, she's the most beautifulist girl she's ever seen. Long flowing brown locks and big brown eyes adorn her face which immediately captivates Quinn._

"_The men won't listen to me! They're just laughing when I tell them something!" The girl says, her pout still prominent._

"_Rachel, honey, this is Mr and Mrs Fabray, they're our new neighbours" Leroy says, gesturing to Russell and Judy. Rachel looks away from her Dad's, her pout immediately disappearing, only to be replaced with a big mega watt smile. She steps forwards and curtsies._

"_Hello Mr and Mrs Fabray. I'm Rachel Barbra Berry" Judy and Russell both blink in surprise at how polite and formal the young girl is. They shake themselves out of it and smile warmly at her, offering Hello's back._

_Quinn wiggles about in Russell's arms, wanting to be let down. Once he does so, she shyly steps towards Rachel, noting how much smaller the girl is to her. Rachel's eyes land on Quinn, making Quinn loose all the air in her body. Her eyes are bright and sparkly, shining with happiness. It makes Quinn smile._

"_Hi" she says, shyly looking down at her shoes "I'm Lucy Quinn Fabray, but you can call me Quinn"_

_Rachel smiles at her "Nice to meet you Lucy"_

* * *

Since then, Quinn doesn't really know when the rivalry started. Their parents got along perfectly fine though. Hiram and Judy always had tea round each other's houses, gushing over soap oprah's and fashion magazines whilst Russell and Leroy would bond over Sports. Quinn would come home from school to find Leroy and Russell sat in the living room, the TV switched onto the Sports channel, both holding a bottle of beer and laughing together. She'd walk into the kitchen and see Judy and Hiram sat at the kitchen island with cups of tea and laughing together. But yet, you'd never see Rachel and Quinn bonding like their parents.

They went to elementary school together and both became friends with Santana and Brittany. They did get on, but one day, Rachel stopped talking to her. She never played in the sand box with Quinn or even spoke to her. Quinn never and still doesn't know what she did. She knew something had changed the day Judy told Quinn Rachel was going to go to a different Middle School than Quinn. Since then, they've been at each other's throats and always, always competing to get one over the other.

When Quinn found out Rachel was taking singing lessons, she demanded to have them as well as guitar lessons. When Leroy told Rachel that Quinn was starting to play Soccer and got on her middle schools team, Rachel joined her middle school's soccer team. Once Middle School finished, Rachel demanded to go to Carmel High-despite it being further away than McKinley.

The rivalry carried on to high school. When Rachel found out that Quinn had become Captain of McKinley's Soccer team in Freshman year, she made sure she became Captain of Carmel's Soccer Team. When Judy informed Quinn that Rachel had joined Carmel's glee club Vocal Adrenaline in Sophomore Year and became captain, Quinn joined New Directions (dragging Brittany and Santana along with her) and became their Captain. The only thing Rachel didn't try to win against Quinn was Skateboarding. She refused to even touch a Skateboard in fear of falling off and somehow damaging her voice, therefore putting a halt to her Broadway Dream.

So, she one-upped Quinn in another way. She stole her boyfriend. This little fact is what made Quinn realise that she absolutely hated Berry's guts. Puck had held a party at his house during Freshmen year and stupidly allowed anyone to come. So, Rachel and her soccer team friends came along. This caused massive tension amongst the party-goers as everyone feared that a fight would break about between the two rivalling soccer teams. Particularly between Quinn and Rachel. But oh how they were wrong-no one expected what happened next to happen.

Quinn walked in on Rachel and Finn-her boyfriend and Quarterback for McKinley's football team- playing tonsil hockey in Puck's bathroom. That's when all hell broke loose. Luckily, Rachel only walked away with a black eye and Quinn with a bruised nose. If Quinn hadn't have just been using Finn as a beard to cover up her gayness, then she probably would've been angrier. What made her really confused though, was that she was jealous. But why? She only used Finn and didn't love him, so why was she jealous? But Quinn silently thanked Rachel for this-of course she wouldn't do it to her face. It allowed her to finally come out and be who she was.

But it wasn't just that that makes Quinn hate Berry. No. It's her cocky, I'm-better-than-you attitude. It's her confidence, her ambition, her strive to get what she wants, her demanding nature that makes her hate her so. Also the way her hair falls perfectly round her face, the way she's still beautiful without loads of makeup-wait, no, she's not.

Nevertheless, Quinn has forever since then been getting Rachel back for stealing Finn. Their rooms faced each other perfectly, their windows where perfectly aligned and everything. So, whenever Quinn brought home one of the many girl's waiting to be with her, she'd always keep her window wide open and make sure she's extremely loud and the girl she's with is very vocal. She'd only stop when she'd hear the angry shouts of Berry and the slamming of the brunette's window, a smirk on her face.

Yes, those days she loved the most.

Quinn looks up from her gym locker when the sound of the shower stool opening sounds through the empty room. What? Isn't she the last person in here? Quinn looks down, seeing that she's still got her towel wrapped round her dry body. Strands of her hair are starting to dry and frizz. Woah, she must've zoned out for a while.

Quickly shrugging off the towel, Quinn pulls her clothing on, wanting to get out before whoever is in here sees her. Just as she's bending down to tie up her shoe, the very last person she wants to see steps into her peripheral vision.

She turns her head, her eyes immediately landing on the wet, long and dripping tanned legs of Rachel Berry.

"Stop staring Fabray" Berry growls, causing Quinn to dart her eyes up to look at her. Quinn clears her throat and places her foot on the ground, noticing how Rachel's got a very small towel wrapped round her body, the end stopping just below her bum.

"Like I'd waste my time staring at your midget body" Quinn retorts, fighting against the urge to look down. She hates to admit this, but from all the dancing and Soccer Berry plays she does have a nice body. Quinn had the pleasure-She means disgust-of getting a sneak peak at said body a week ago.

"Funny, you did exactly that last week." Berry smirks at Quinn, spotting the fearful uh-oh I got caught look in her eye "Yeah I saw you staring at me as I got changed after my shower. Enjoy the show?"

Quinn scoffs and hoists her bag up onto her shoulder, making sure that her Soccer boots wont dig into her side "If I had to chose between staring at your naked body or eat dog shit, I'd eat the dog shit-at least with that I can get the taste away easier, with you I will forever have the image of your body engraved in my mind, forever giving me nightmares" Quinn smiles sweetly at her.

Berry glares at Quinn, her eyes turning into slits as she sizes her up. Neither speak for a while; both just continue to stare at each other. That is, until Berry moves her hand up to her wet hair and plays with the strands, watching as Quinn's eyes follow the movement. Quinn tries to fight it, but she can't help but watch as Berry's hand descends from her hair, brushing the edge of her towel covered breast, running down her side then gently hooking onto the bottom of her towel. During this, a smirk had formed on her face, knowing that Quinn thinks the complete opposite of her body.

"Hmm...you make it sound like a bad thing" Berry says, tilting her head to the side.

Quinn's eyes dart up to Berry's face again and she swallows thickly, trying to gain a little composure before she smirks and leans in close to the brunette "Trust me, it is" she growls before grabbing hold of her skateboard and walking out of the locker room.

She sighs in relief as soon as her board hits the pavement and she starts skating off down the road. She almost lost her cool then, almost. Berry had her hooked, but luckily Quinn wiggled away and slapped Berry in the face with her tail on her exit.

As she arrives at her home, she smoothly jumps off her skateboard and picks it up, easily strolling into the cosy home. She walks into the kitchen, spotting her Mum cooking at the stove and Hiram standing next to her, chatting away about the latest gossip on the Kardashians.

"Hey Mum, Hello Hiram" She greets the smaller of the Berry men and slides onto the island counter top, picking up one of the freshly washed berry's and popping it into her mouth.

"Hello Quinnie" Judy says, giving Quinn a kiss on the cheek.

"Hello Quinn, how are you?" Hiram asks, dropping his conversation with Judy to talk to Quinn.

See, the thing is, Quinn actually likes the Berry men. They're basically her surrogate Father's to her. Especially when she realised she was gay. They were the first people she spoke to about it. Hiram and held her as she cried in his arms over the realization and the worry of being kicked out of the house. The Berry men proceeded to assure her that would not happen and promised to help her whenever she needed-especially if they need her there when she told Russell and Judy.

Luckily, when she did tell them, Russell and Judy took it pretty well then proceeded to ask what take out they should get and what movie they should watch. This just brought more tears to Quinn's eyes.

So the Berry men are pretty fucking awesome people. Their daughter is not.

"I'm fine thank you Hiram, yourself?" Quinn asks, after swallowing the strawberry. Immediately she picks another one out, placing it into her mouth and piercing the flesh with her teeth.

"I'm very well. My daughter wasn't too harsh on you today was she?" Hiram asks with concern. He, much like Leroy and the Fabray's do not enjoy or understand the feud their daughters have and-along with Judy- constantly worry they'll seriously hurt each other one day. Especially after they pushed each other out of a tree during one of their neighbourly dinners. Now they sit them on opposite ends of the table and keep away from conversations that will make them clash. These dinners rarely happen.

Quinn shakes her head "Nah, fouled be pretty hard but other than that it was okay" She grabs another strawberry but Judy slaps her hand away, causing her to drop it. Quinn looks at the fallen strawberry forlornly.

"No more, they are for after dinner" Judy says, shaking a spoon in Quinn's face.

Hiram looks down at his watch and gasps dramatically "Goodness look at the time! I best be getting back, Rachel will be wondering where I am. Thank you for the tea Judy. Bye Quinn"

"Bye Hiram!" Quinn calls out, watching the small man run out of the door.

"Quinn can you set the table please? Your Farther will be home soon"

Quinn groans "But Mum!"

"Now, Quinn" Judy says in her 'don't-fuck-with-me-I'm-your-mother-voice' as Quinn likes to call it.

Quinn sighs and jumps off the counter, grabbing the forks and knifes and moves to set the table.

* * *

**Okay so how did you guys like it? Do you like the concept of the story? Is there sexual tensions that is too delicious to handle between the girls? What about the explanations? Please tell me in a review guys! Lets me know if I should bother continuing the story!**

**Thank you very much for reading!**

**xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Okay guys, here's the next chapter! I'm sorry if this is late, I just had so much work from my College this week that I barely had time to write this. Not So Normal will probably be updated on Tuesday the latest, I promise.**

**Thank you guys so much for the reviews, I was shocked by how many of you liked this story tbh. One of you mentioned that I should change a few of my spellings from UK to American as I'm using 'Soccer' instead of 'Football' but I won't. Like I said in the first chapter, I'm only using Soccer so you don't get confused for when the characters start to talk about Football. Other than that, every word will either have the UK spelling or be a UK word. So I'm sorry if you don't like that.**

**I forgot to mention the pairings in this fic to you in the last chapter so here they are: Faberry is Endgame, Brittana will feature and it starts with Finchel. The Brotp's used are Quarite, Unholy Trinity and Quarite. You won't see much of Rachel's friendships as the narrative will be in Quinn's POV mainly.**

**Oh and side note: Would any of you like to be my Beta? It's been suggested that I get one. Bearing in mind, you won't just be a Beta for this story, but also for Not So Normal. If you're interested please PM me :D**

**If you have any questions, feel free to ask in a review or PM me or message me on Tumblr (Link is on my profile)**

**Anyway, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any characters in the show.**

* * *

Quinn walks through the school doors like a powerhouse. This is her school, every corner, every wall, every paint chip on the lockers. Everything is hers to rule. And the best part? Everyone knows it. She may not be the tallest or most buff student, but she is the scariest when she wants to be.

So when Quinn walks down the corridors with Santana and Brittany flanking her, the student body part like the red sea. All of them try to hurriedly move out the way, some falling to the ground in their haste.

Quinn suddenly stops though, her eyes surveying the crowd. Some students seem to be whispering and pointing at her, giggling or snickering as they do so

"Something's off" she says, glaring at the students who dare laugh her way.

"Q! Q!" Artie rolls his way through the crowd, stopping just in front of them.

Quinn smiles at her best friend. The 'Quartie' friendship did baffle many students at McKinley, why would the most popular kid at the school handguns with the loser in a wheelchair? The answer to this is that Artie had helped Quinn train in Soccer, helped her-along with the Berry Men- come to terms with her homosexuality and was by her side, holding her hand as she told her parents. Artie was Quibb's first friend in elementary school.

Whenever she thanks him for helping her, he brushes it off, saying he's repaying her for when she helped him. Quinn was there for Artie when he had his accident, helped home come to terms with his disability and she did the one thing that he'll forever repay her for.  
She saved his life.

But we'll get to that later.

"What's up Artie?"

"You need to come to the girls soccer locker room" Quinn nods and immediately starts following Artie down the hallway.

As they come to the locker room, Quinn stops in her stride, her shoes squeaking against the flooring. A crowd of students are gathered outside the entrance, a few are giggling, some look on in shock.

She clears her throat, causing the crowd to part and allow her through. she stops short of the entrance, already spotting what was wrong.

From the furthest wall, to the closest, the entire locker room was covered in toilet paper. They had been tee-peed. Quinn's eyes zero in on a small post it note on her locker. Not wanting to risk walking in and being attacked by anything, she grabs the nearest kid and pushes them in.

"I can't be in here! I'm a guy!" The freshman kid squeaks out. Quinn just glares at him, watching as he gulps then walks over to her locker and grabs the note, passing it to her and running out of the room, shaking himself.

Quinn shakes her head at him and looks down at the note, her anger intensifying when she recognises the hand writing.

_**'This is just the start of it. Be prepared'**_

She crumples up the note and throws into the nearest bin, seething in anger. How the fuck did she get into the locker room? How did she get into the school!.

"Berry?" Santana asks, walking up next to Quinn. Quinn only nods stiffly, too angry to speak.

"You called?" The voice of the Devil speaks up, causing Quinn and Santana to spin round, coming face to face with Rachel, a few of her teammates and a sheepish looking Finn.

Quinn takes a deep breath and eyes the smaller girl. The brunette lifts a challenging eyebrow at her and cocks her hip, smirking as Quinn's eyes follow the movement before flickering back up to her own.

"How did you get in?"

"Well" Rachel clears her throat and leans into Finn's side "It helps to have a boyfriend who goes here"

"What in god's name-Miss Berry!" Roz walks through the crowd, having had peered into the room before spotting the two girls and hearing the exchange. She stands in front of her "Did you do this?"

Rachel fakes innocence "No, I was just about to offer my help to Quinn to help clean it" she says with a sickley sweet tone, putting on a fake smile.

Roz looks over her shoulder at Quinn and raises her eyebrow, unimpressed at Rachel's attempt to sweet talk her way out of this. Quinn shrugs but nods, silently answering Roz's question. Roz turns back to the smaller girl, her gaze going to Finn "Jolly giant, can you confirm that Miss Berry had nothing to do with this. Bearing in mind that if you lie, I'll make sure Coach Beast throws you off the team and that my girl's here" she nods her heads to Quinn, Santana and Brittany "Order slushy attack on you daily"

Finn pales at the thought of it and stutters out "R-Rachel and her team mate did it. She asked me to get her in" He winces in pain as Rachel nudges him harshly in the ribs "I'm sorry Babe but she threatened to have me slushied!"

Quinn's anger boils at the use of the pet name. Berry is far from a babe. More like a troll. Quinn runs her eyes over Rachel's outfit. An incredibly short skirt hangs just under her thighs matched with a blue tank and a black jacket-the colours of Vocal Adrenaline. God, her legs look so smooth and delicio- Quinn cuts her thought trace short upon feeling Santana nudge her. She looks up to see Roz raising an expectant eyebrow at her.

"I'm sorry Coach, can you repeat the question?"

Roz rolls her eyes "Girl you got to get your heads outta those clouds! I said, seeing as Miss Berry and her teams mates made this mess, they should clean it and you will monitor them. Is that okay?"

Quinn looks at Rachel and smirks, liking the idea of being able to boss Rach-Berry about-not in that way, just like-y'know-oh forget it. "It's more than okay coach"

"I'll also be contacting Coach Treadwell and in from her of your stunt. I expect she'll have a suitable punishment ready for you when you make your midget ass way back to your school" With that, Roz walks away, also clearing students out of the way and sending them to lessons.

Finn shrugs helplessly and walks off to his lesson. Quinn watches in delight as Rachel stares daggers into his back. Santana smirks at Rachel, purposely bumping into-sorry shoving-into her shoulder as she and Brittany walk past.

"Are you going to be alright Quinn?" Artie asks, looking up at Quinn in slight concern.

Quinn removes her eyes from Rachel and looks down at her friend "I'll be fine, go wheel your ass off to class" She says, giving his chair a slight push in the right direction. Artie waves at her and wheels down the hallway, leaving Rachel and her teammates with her in the hall.

"Dating robot's now Fabray? I thought you were gay" Rachel asks with a sneer, silently ordering her team into the room.

Quinn folds her arms together and smiles mockingly at her "Growing balls Berry? I thought you were a girl" her smile falls "In" she says, pointing to the room where Rachel's team is starting to gather up the toilet paper.

* * *

"Bye girls!" Quinn waves at them with a wink as Rachel and her team leave, angrily storming down the hallway.

Santana slides up next to her, Artie rolling beside her as they begin to walk down the hallway to Glee.

"How are we going to get them back? Egg their house? Put paint in their lockers, gas bombs?" Santana asks, getting more and more excited with each idea she comes up with.

Quinn only chuckles and shakes her head, walking into Glee club. She spots Puck tuning his guitar and walks over to him. Her shadow looms over him, causing the mohawked boy to look up. Upon spotting her, Puck smirks and places his guitar down, leaning back in his chair.

"What can I do for you Quinnie?" Puck asks, chuckling when Quinn glares at him.

"You're having a party this Friday right?"

"Yeah, to celebrate the start of Soccer season, why?"

"Tell Finn he can invite anyone he likes, including Rachel. I have something planned for her"

Puck scratches the back of his neck "Don't be too harsh on the girl okay Q?"

Quinn narrows her eyes at him dangerously "Why do you care?"

At the question, Puck feigns indifference and moves into a casual position "I don't. She seems alright I guess" he says with a shrug.

Quinn isn't convinced but just shrugs and makes her way over to the empty seat beside Artie, smiling and ruffling his hair as she sits down.

"Alright guys" Mr Schue says, walking into the choir room "Time to start thinking about Sectionals" he says with excitement.

Artie and Quinn look at each other and roll their eyes, hoping they don't fall asleep as Mr Schue lectures them.

* * *

"Ready to get your ass kicked Abrahams?" Quinn asks as she and Artie walk into her house, throwing her bag off to the side. She waits in the doorway as Artie wheels himself in and smiles, running over to her Xbox and setting up a game of Fifa.

Artie scoffs and takes the controller Quinn holds out to him "Girl, you know I'm going to whoop yo ass again"

Quinn laughs and sits down on the sofa "I let you win that game"

The brown haired boy only shakes his head "Time to settle this"

About thirty minutes into the game and the two teens start to get even more competitive. Quinn, playing as Chelsea, already has two goals where as Artie, playing as Manchester has one. Artie passes the ball to one of his characters, charging down the field, getting ready to score when out of nowhere, Quinn's blue character comes in and slide tackles him, sending him onto the ground.

"Yes!" Quinn shouts when the timer blows, signalling the end of the game. "In your face Artie!" Quinn says joyously.

Artie rolls his eyes "I went easy on you. Round two!"

"I'm sorry to cut this short, children" Judy says, walking into the lounge "But the Berry's are coming round for dinner soon so that will need to be turned off. You're more than welcome to stay Artie"

"Thanks Mrs J" Artie says, smiling at the women. Quinn watches her Mum leave the room before groaning and falling back onto the settee, placing her head into her hands.

"Fucking hell, I'm going to have to talk to her some more?" Quinn mutters to herself.

"You know, ya'll never told me why you two don't get on" Artie says, putting his controller onto the coffee table, wheeling himself up to the TV to turn it off before making his way next to Quinn.

Quinn sighs and lifts her head up, green eyes locking onto kind blue ones of Artie. She puffs out her cheeks for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. She releases the air and blows a piece of hair out of her eyes before speaking.

"You and I both know that I have no clue" She gets up from the settee and starts to make her way into the kitchen, Artie rolling himself behind her.

"There must be some reason as to why you're at each other's throats"

Quinn smiles at Judy and picks up and Apple. She hopes up onto the island and takes a big bite out of it "Mmmph mmph mpmmpsh" she says around the piece of apple. She hisses when Judy hits her hand with a spoon, silently berating her for her manners. Artie chuckles at the exchange, patiently waiting for Quinn to finish eating.

"I dunno, one day we were best friends the next she stopped speaking to me. I didn't understand what had happened and then she started to be horrible, so I was horrible back" Quinn shrugs and takes another bite, a bit of the apples dribbling down her chin.

"What's this you're talking about?" Judy asks, spinning round with a pot full of pasta. Quinn scooches out of the way to allow Judy to empty it onto the plates.

"Why Rachel and Quinn hate each other" Artie says.

"Oh don't be so silly, they don't hate each other. They just haven't realised how much they-"

"Guess who I've got!" Russell sing songs into the house, interrupting Judy. He strolls into the kitchen, Hiram, Leroy and Rachel following him. He round the counter and places a big wet kiss onto Judy's lips, causing Quinn to scrunch up her nose and make a face at Artie, causing him to chuckle.

Russell moves away from Judy "Hey, now don't be like that kiddo" Russell says, moving to stand next to Quinn "Someday you're going to come home from work and want to great your wife in the same way"

Quinn shakes her head "That may be" she jumps off of the counter and throws her apple core into the bin "But it doesn't mean I enjoy my parents showing affection in my presence" She turns round to smile at Hiram and Leroy, giving them both individual hugs and saying hello to them.

"Don't worry about Quinn, Rachel does the same thing when Hiram and I kiss" Leroy says to Russell, walking over to Judy and placing a kiss on her cheek. "Mr Abrahams" Leroy says, upon seeing Artie sat next to Quinn "My, haven't you grown"

"I saw you last week Sir" Artie says, laughing.

Leroy waves his hand about "A lot can happen in a week my good man. And how many times do I have to say it, call me Leroy" he winks at Artie before moving to talk to Russell.

"Rachel darling you have yet to give me a hug!" Judy exclaims, manoeuvring her way through the kitchen towards Rachel who was silently watching Quinn and Hiram speak to each other.

She looks away from the blonde and her Dad, smiling at Judy and welcoming the hug Judy engulfs her in "Hello Judy" Rachel says, moving away from Judy once they break apart.

"We were just speaking about you" Judy says, gesturing to Quinn and Artie who both look on with a deer caught in head lights look on their faces.

Rachel raises an eyebrow, smirking over at Quinn "You were?"

"Yes yes-"

"Mum!" Quinn quickly interrupts "I think the sauce is ready"

Judy's eye widen comically and she rushes back to the oven "Oh yes, yes!" she takes the pot of sauce off of the stove and begins to pour it over the pasta "Don't worry Rachel, I have your vegan substitute right here!" Judy says, picking up a separate pan.

Rachel steps further into the room "Thank you very much. Here, let me help you" She takes the plates from Judy and starts to take them into the dining room, Russell and Leroy trailing behind her like dogs, eager to eat.

"Thank you dear. Quinn, take these please" She says handing a bowl to over to Quinn. Quinn rolls her eyes and takes it, walking into the dining room with Hiram, Judy and Artie following her.

"Bon appetite everyone!" Judy says as everyone takes their places.

"This should be fun" Artie whispers to Quinn, causing her to chuckle, secretly hoping that she can get away from the dinner without having to interact with Rachel.

...

This proved to be a difficult task as Rachel seemed to make it her mission to anger Quinn at the table. Every so often, Quinn would feel a foot hit against her shin. It seemed to hit her in a three beat rhythm. Hit, hit hit. Hit, hit hit. Hit, hit hit. Over and over again. She had to bite her tongue to keep herself from launching herself over the table and punching Rachel in her perfect face over and over again.

Perfect? She meant imperfect. Yeah.

Why oh why did she have to sit opposite her? Couldn't she have picked the seat opposite Judy or Hiram? No, not Hiram, that would mean she'd be next to Quinn. That would be worse! What if she started to poke her in the thigh with her fork, but then what if that turned to her finger poking her thigh? Then the finger would become Rachel's small un-manly hands softly caressing her thigh, getting closer and closer to her throbbing-

Quinn looks to ehr left upon feeling a sharp jab in her side. She sees Artie looking at her with raised eyebrows, obviously having jabbed her hip with his elbow. She looks away from him, seeing that all conversation had stopped and everyone was looking at her. Leroy and Hiram with raised eyebrows, Russell with a baffled look, Judy with a curious one and Rachel...Rachel had that fucking smirk spread out across her face again.

"Quinn?" Judy asks gently.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?"

Little did Quinn know, that whilst her previous thoughts were going through her mind, her face had slowly become red and she had let out a high pitched squeak, halting all chatter at the table.

"Yeah, yeah I just need some uh-some water" Quinn squeaks out, her throat suddenly dry. She reaches forward and grasps onto her glass, taking a lengthy sip from it as the red drains from her face, restoring her natural colour.

Everyone shrugs and goes back to chatting amongst themselves, apart from Rachel, whom continues to stare at Quinn with the same smirk, seemingly knowing what Quinn was just thinking. Quinn growls when the three beat pattern begins to hit against her shin again. Her hand tightens around her glass as she glares at Rachel.

"Stop it" she growls. Rachel only ignores her and begins to hit her faster "Stop it!" Quinn shouts, once again silencing conversation.

"What's the matter?" Russell asks, slightly exasperated.

"She keeps kicking me!" Quinn says, pointing her finger to Rachel.

"I do not!" Rachel exclaims.

"Yes you do you midget freak!" Quinn shouts, standing up from her chair and placing her hands on the table, leaning over to glare at Rachel.

"Lucy Quinn Fabray how dare you speak to a guest like that" Judy says.

"I'd rather be a midget freak then a Frat Boy Lesbian!"

"Rachel Barbra Berry!" Hiram gasps out.

"How the fuck does that work?" Quinn asks "I don't even like rap music!"

"ENOUGH!" Russell's booming voice fills the room, shutting every one up. Artie looks between everyone with an excited puppy look, desperately wishing he had some popcorn and a video camera.

"I am so very sorry to cut this dinner short Judy and Russell, but we must be heading back" Leroy says, standing up from the table, placing his napkin onto the table top "Thank you very much for the dinner Judy, it was wonderful like always" Leroy sends one look to Rachel, silently ordering her to follow him out.

"Thank you for inviting us to dinner Russell" Hiram says before following his Husband and Daughter out of the home.

The Fabray's and Artie stay silent, listening to the front door shut closed, signalling the Berry's departure before Russell breaks the silence in a calm voice "Artie, would you please excuse us" Artie nods and wheels himself away from the table and into the living room.

"Sit down Quinn" Russell orders to the still standing Quinn. Quinn nods and slowly sits back down, staying silent the entire time.

She starts to fiddles with her cutlery, nervous for what Russell will say. Will he shout at her? Will he stay calm? It's always the worst when he doesn't shout. She's always waiting for him to shout, wanting him to shout at her, but instead calmly tells her to go to her room and nothing else.

"How could you?" Russell asks softly, his hands clasped in front of him. "Your mother put so much hard work into this meal and you go and ruin it?"

"I'm so sorry" Quinn whispers.

"Don't apologise to me, apologise to your mother! Apologise to Rachel and Leroy and Hiram! Especially Rachel with the way you spoke to her"

"She was kicking me and-"

"I AM TALKING!" Russell shouts, his face becoming slightly red. Quinn sinks into her seat, knowing that when Russell shouts like that, he is really quite angry. "Whatever this rivalry you two have needs to be sorted out! I will not have your petty arguments ruining our dinners! If you can't sort them out then keep them away from our home"

"I'm so sorry Mum" Quinn says, locking eyes with her mother.

Judy shakes her head "It's fine. Just make sure you apologise to Rachel, you had no reason to speak to her the way you did." Judy gets up and starts to clear the table "If you excuse me, I've got some washing up to do" with that she walks into the kitchen, leaving Russell and Quinn in the dining room.

"I want you to take Artie home then when you come back, go over to the Berry's and apologise. Once home you are to go straight to your room with no access to your laptop or TV, understood?" Russell says, waiting for Quinn to nod. When she does so, he gets up from the table and walks over to her, placing a kiss on top of her head, surprising her "I love you Kiddo, but you've got to stop the arguing okay?" he walks away to help Judy with clearing up.

Quinn silently gets up from the table, grabs her coat and keys and walks into the living room, smiling weakly at Artie who rolls himself towards her.

"How bad was it?" he asks as they make their way to the front door.

"Not that bad. I have to apologise to them but don't have my laptop or TV for the rest of the night" She says, opening up the door and wheeling Artie down the driveway.

"You still going to get her back though, right?" He asks as she helps him into her car.

She puts his chair in her boot and walks round to the driver's side and hops in.

"Oh yeah, that bitch doesn't know what's coming to her" Quinn smirks at Artie and backs out fo the driveway, heading towards Artie's.

* * *

**Okay, so there's the chapter! Did you guys enjoy it? I hope so!**

**The next chapter will carry on straight from this one so you'll see Quinn 'apologise' and also Puck's party and much more so stick around for that! Please.**

**Thanks so much for reading.**

**Have a good night!**

**xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow, uh you guys don't like Rachel do you? Well hopefully in this chapter you'll find some compassion for her :D Thanks for the reviews guys! They were great to read.**

**Thankyou to **_**ILGsowhat**_**for Beta-ing this chapter**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, only the character's I make up.**

* * *

Quinn huffs loudly as she stares at the Berry household. Ugh why does she have to do this? Her dad is so unfair! She didn't start the argument, Berry was kicking her! What was she supposed to do? Let her continue? No fucking way.

She sighs once again and reluctantly gets out of her car, walking with heavy foot steps up to the big mahogany door glaring down at her. Her eyes focus on the bear door knocker shining it's teeth as it roars.

As her hand reaches out to grab hold of the bear, the door swings open, revealing a grumbling Rachel, angrily tugging on her jacket. She pauses in her movements when she finally spots the blonde standing before her. Her eyes turn into slits, her lips pulling up into a disgusted scowl as she leans her hand against the door frame, sizing Quinn up with her gaze.

"What do you want?" Berry asks with malice.

Quinn bites down on her tongue to keep herself from making a retort back. She takes a deep breath whilst closing her eyes, silently chanting "You're here to apologize" in her head. Opening her eyes, she focusing on the impatient and uninterested face of Berry.

She goes to say it, it's on the tip of her tongue, but with the way Berry is looking at her, she can't say it. Instead, she blurts out something else, something that's been pushing up her throat since she could remember.

"Why do you hate me?"

Rachel is caught off guard, leaning back slightly in shock before regaining her composure. "I don't have time for this" She shrugs her jacket on properly before walking out of the door, letting it slam behind her.

Quinn doesn't move from her place on the door step, so when Rachel turns back round, they end up nose to nose. Quinn gulps nervously as she stares into Rachel's eyes, captivated by the liquid pools of brown swimming in her irises and the way she has a small twinkle shining at the edge of her pupils. She's broken out of the spell when Rachel roughly pushes past her and heads down the drive way.

The blonde quickly follows, having to jog a little to catch up to the power walking Diva. She slides in front of her, almost causing the petite brunette to walk into her. Luckily Rachel catches herself before she does and sends an annoyed look Quinn's way.

"You didn't answer my question"

Rachel shakes her head and glances everywhere but Quinn "I thought it was obvious" she says gruffly, pulling her jacket tighter around her body.

When Quinn continues to stare at Rachel blankly, Rachel rolls her eyes exasperatedly "Because you're a bitch" She goes to move round the taller girl's body, but a hand on her chest stops her.

"That's not it. What's the real reason?" Quinn asks, not convinced by Rachel's answer.

Rachel growls angrily and stomps her foot "Can't you just get through that thick head of yours that not everyone will love you!" With that, Rachel barges past her and walks further down the street.

"Where are you going?!" Quinn shouts out to her, worried that Rachel is walking on her own at night.

"None of your business!" Rachel shouts back, disappearing into the darkness.

Quinn scratches her head and kicks the gravel. Fuck! She thought she almost got an answer then!

With frustration, Quinn trudges up to her home, heading straight to her room where she collapses onto her bed, automatically falling into a deep slumber.

* * *

Her hands hold onto the red cup in her hand tightly as she awaits the arrival of Finn. Cheers sound around her as a game of beer pong plays, music pounds through her brain as the party goers dance to the sexual songs, bumping and grinding sweaty bodies against each other. She brings the cup up to her lips, scrunching her nose up as the bland and bitter taste of beer fills her mouth. She quickly swallows it and places the cup onto the nearest counter, swiftly grabbing a wine cooler and popping the top off. Not wasting anytime, she quickly drinks half of its contents, sighing happily when the sweet taste of Berry-Oh-uh _berries _tickles her taste buds.

"Someone's thirsty" She looks her head to the side, smiling when her eyes land on the blue hair of Ramona, one of the midfielder's on her team. Ramona smiles back at her, leaning her side against the wall Quinn's leant on.

"I'm a little nervous" Quinn says, taking another sip from her wine cooler.

Ramona smirks at her, a brown eyebrow cocking up "Party jitters or waiting for a special someone?"

Quinn almost says a special someone, but realises how odd that would be to say. The only person she's waiting to turn up is Berry and...and she isn't special in anyway. Is she?

"Party jitters" she finally says after a few minutes of thinking "Last time I was here, I almost had sex with Puckerman, don't want to make that mistake again"

"Well, maybe all you need is a distraction" Ramona says with a flirtatious smile, leaning into Quinn closer.

"I-" A commotion in the hallway stops Quinn from speaking. She can hear voice bickering and decides to investigate. Leaving Ramona without a word, Quinn walks through the crowd, who, to her happiness, part upon seeing her walking in the direction of the noise.

She stops when she gets to the front, seeing Santana standing at the threshold, her arms folded over her chest and an annoyed expression on her face as she stares at Finn. Quinn looks over to Finn, spotting his 'I'm sorry' face before changing her focus to the brunette by his side, a few of her friends from Vocal Adrenaline behind her. Quinn spots the faces of Kurt, Mercedes and Tina, all three of them looking at her with awkward smiles. Unlike Jesse and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline, Kurt, Mercedes and Tina are actually friendly towards Quinn and the New Directions, stating they'd rather hang out with them than the snobby bitches in VA.

Her eyes focus on the proud and evil smile on Berry's face staring at her. Quinn holds back her smirk, Rachel just fell right into her trap. She feigns anger as she steps past Santana up to Rachel, ignoring Finn who shifts slightly to try and block her view of Rachel.

"What are you doing here?" She growls out. She watches nervously as Berry's eyes look her over, a slight hint of doubt in her eyes. Quinn panics, thinking Berry can see past her facade. She mentally releases a sigh of relief when Berry goes back to smirking, not seeing past Quinn's acting. Ha!

"Finn invited me. Is that a problem?" Berry asks in a sickly sweet tone.

"Finn, you dumbass! You invite Berry to a party for OUR Soccer team?" Santana growls, moving to attack him. Quinn puts her arm out to stop the feisty Latina and turns to her, leaning to whisper in her ear.

"I knew she was going to be here. I'm going to get her back for the locker room" she whispers before moving away.

Finn scratches his head "Puck said I can invite anyone" he says with a shrug. Quinn sighs and shakes her head but steps back, allowing them room to move into the house.

"Fine. But if you start anything or talk to me" she says this to Rachel "You're out"

Rachel scoffs "Why would I choose to speak to you?" With that, she flips her hair over her shoulder and struts past the blonde into the living room, grabbing the wine cooler in Quinn's hand on her way.

"So, how are you going to get her back?" Santana asks as the crowd leaves, going back into partying. Quinn smirks and taps a finger to her nose, walking back to where she was stood before.

* * *

Quinn tips back her fifth wine cooler, finishing it off. She grimaces, but not at the taste, oh no. At the sight before her. Finn and Rachel are on the make-shift dance floor dancing together. Rachel's got her arms up in the air, swaying side to side sensually whilst Finn gropes at her hips and waist, swaying awkwardly with a red face. Quinn's stomach flips in disgust when she makes out Finn silently mouthing 'mailman' over and over again.

"You okay?" Quinn turns her head to see Puck, standing next to her with a smile.

"Fine" she growls out, grabbing the cup out of Puck's hands and downing back its contents, coughing slightly when vodka burns her throat.

"Really? You don't seem it to me, especially seeing as you've had a few wine coolers and just drank my vodka and coke" Quinn doesn't reply, but averts her eyes from the sight before her. Puck looks over to where she was looking and nods in understanding but knows not to say anything.

"Hey Puck" Quinn looks up, seeing a sweaty Finn standing in front of her "Quinn"

Quinn just nods at him, trying to ignore the noticeable tent in his trousers.

"Can I use your bathroom?" Finn asks Puck who smirks at him.

"Mailman not work again?"

Finn blushes and shakes his head "No"

AGAIN? AGAIN?! How many times have he and Rach-Berry gotten so hot and heavy that mailman didn't work?

"Where's Rachel?" Puck asks

"Outside" Finn answers before taking off to the bathroom/

Puck spots Quinn's smirk and quickly stops her from walking "No no no. Quinn, don't. Leave her alone okay?"

Quinn glares up at him "Why do you care about what I may or may not do to Berry?"

"What? I-I don't" Puck says, quickly dropping his arms. However, Quinn doesn't believe him and narrows her eyes at him.

"You do" she takes a step toward him, he automatically takes a step back.

"I don't"

"Did you knock her up? Did you sleep with her?" Quinn asks, taking more steps closer to him, which Puck matches with a step back.

"WHAT?! No! No" Quinn raises an eyebrow at him, causing him to relent and admit the truth "We go to the same synagogue alright. We're friends, she helps look after my little sister when I can't or Mum's working late shifts. She's...there's a lot about Rachel you don't know, Quinn and if you do anything to hurt her, it will hurt her more than you know"

"Why didn't you ever ask me to help out with your sister?" Quinn asks, slightly hurt that Puck couldn't approach her and ask for help.

Puck scratches his head "You're always pre-occupied with how you can torment Rachel and with Soccer and Glee"

Quinn glances outside for a moment, her eyes widening when she spots Rachel jumping into the pool butt naked. Berry is...naked...in Puck's pool...all alone. Perfect.

"Look, I'm sorry about everything Puck, I'll try and help out more, but there's something I've got to do" she runs past Puck, grabs hold of Santana and drags her outside with her.

Quinn silences Santana's process with a finger to her lips and points to the pile of Berry's clothes in the grass, smirking evilly. Santana grins at Quinn, already liking the blonde's plan and nods. The both sneak over to the clothes as quietly as possible. Quinn grabs the towel Berry's put out whilst Santana grabs Berry's clothes. Quinn signals for Santana to throw them on the front lawn whilst she stands in the shadows of the trees in the back garden to confront Berry.

She watches in delight as Rachel hoists herself out of the pool and gasps, looking around for the towel and clothes, trying to cover up her body with hands. With quiet footsteps, Quinn walks to the side of the pool, feeling the pool lights brighten up her face.

"Looking for this?" Quinn asks, causing Berry to gasp and spin round, her eyes focusing on the towel Quinn's holding between her fingers limply, her arm stretched out over the water.

"Give that to me" Rachel growls, walking over to Quinn and making a grab for it. Her finger tips only just graze the soft cotton of the towel as Quinn releases it, letting it fall into the water of the pool.

"Oops" Quinn smirks, raising an eyebrow at Rachel in challenge.

"Berry's naked!" Quinn hears shouted from inside the home. Then, right on cue, the back doors slide open and outcome the crowd of students, all giggling and laughing at Berry's humiliation.

Quinn looks back at Rachel, a frown falling on her face when she sees Rachel's shoulders shake. She can't see her face as the brunette's face is turned towards the ground. But when Rachel raises her head to look at Quinn, Quinn feels her heart break. She's looking so hurt and sad, tears flowing down her cheeks from the humiliation. Quinn hates seeing Rachel like that. All she wanted to do was humiliate her, not make her cry.

Quinn's eyebrows furrow together when she watches as Rachel scratches at her nose and hands desparetly. It's then when she spots the pink scars on the back of Rachel's hands and a few small ones on her nose. She looks further down the girl's body, seeing smaller ones on her stomach, some healing.

"Quinn!" she hears shouted but doesn't look up. She continues to watch Rachel cry and scratch, desperately wanting to reach out and cover the girl up, away from the crowd of people. It's only when Puck's arms encircle Rachel as he wraps his sweater around her body does she look up.

She steps back in shock at Puck's furious and disappointed face "Is this what you wanted?" He growls, hiding the crying girl from prying eyes. Quinn just stares at him blankly, not able to form any words to reply. "Well congratulations. You've humiliated her" Puck takes Rachel's clothes that Kurt and Mercedes gathered from them and guides Rachel into his house, all the while shouting for everyone to get out.

The party goers disperse, all still giggling about Rachel and make their way to their cars or home. Quinn only finds the strength to move when Santana walks into the garden, smirking at her.

"We got her Q, big time" She says, but Quinn doesn't hear her, she marches past her into the home and up the stairs, desperately looking for Puck and Berry.

After looking into Puck's and his little sister's room, does she finally find them in his Mum's room. Rachel's sat on the edge of his Mum's bed, her head in Puck's shoulder as she cries. Puck holds her close to him, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly and occasionally kissing the top of her head. Upon spotting Quinn in the door way, he removes himself from Rachel and walks up to her, blocking her view from Rachel.

"What do you want?" He asks, his voice cold.

"Is she-Can I-" She stops all speech, falling silent. She doesn't exactly know why she's here, all she knew was that she needed to find Berry, it was a gut instinct.

"No. Leave her alone Quinn. You've done enough today. Leave" With that he slams the door in her face.

The only thought processing through her mind now is;

What will her parents do when they find out?

* * *

Quinn sits at the breakfast counter, her eyes darting to both her parents as she munches on her Cap'n Crunch cereal. Russell sits beside her, a newspaper held up in front of his face whilst Judy works at the stove, cooking up some eggs and bacon for her husband. It's silent apart from the crunching of the cereal in Quinn's mouth, the sizzling of the eggs and the occasional rustle of papers as her Dad turns the page. Quinn's leg shakes in anxiousness as she waits for her parents to shout at her and tell her to do some grovelling towards Rachel.

Why aren't they saying anything? Normally they would've pounce don her as soon as she made her way into the kitchen. But all that was exchanged was "good morning's" and hugs and kisses before they all lapsed into a silence. She hates it, she wants them to shout at her, tell her off, anything! Anything to get rid of this feeling of the calm before the storm.

"Is something wrong Kiddo?" Russell asks, noticing Quinn's anxiousness.

Quinn swallows quickly "Are you not angry with me?" she asks softly, keeping her eyes firmly locked on her bowl.

"Why would we shout at you?" Russell questions, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion. "Did something happen at the party?"

Quinn silent for a while. Did Rachel not tell her parents? Did Rachel's parents not tell hers? Quinn shakes her head and scoots off of the stool "I'm going to the park" she says, placing her bowl into the sink.

"Be safe" Judy says, kissing her cheek before Quinn runs up to her room, having a quick shower and changing into a pair of shorts, a t-shirt and a grey hoodie.

She grabs her soccer ball and walks out of the home, bouncing the ball along the pavement as she heads to the park. She needs to calm down and sort through the million and one thoughts running through her mind. The image of Rachel's broken face and Puck's cold one flashes through her mind, making her cringe slightly.

Never in the whole time she's known Puck has he looked at her like that. Like dirt at the bottom of his shoe. He always looked at her with warmth or friendliness, occasionally flirtation but Quinn quickly put him in his place when he does.

She growls out in frustration as she gets to her favourite spot in the park and begins to do some kick-ups, placing all of her concentration into the ball. She blocks out the thoughts in her mind, getting into her zone.

Once Quinn starts going with a Soccer ball, it's almost impossible to get her out of her 'Soccer zone' as Russell kindly dubbed it. She wouldn't see or hear anyone else, just the ball and her goal. It came in handy during matches. The only person who's taken her out of the zone is Rachel. That's why the matches against Carmel and McKinley get so rough, because Quinn isn't able to get into her zone as Rachel is there, determined to distract her.

"Holy fu-" Quinn stumbles as she turns round, trying to keep the ball up. Her eyes had landed on a very close Rachel, frightening her and causing Quinn to lose her footing.

The ball falls with a 'thump' onto the damp grass and rolls over to Rachel's feet. With her right foot, Rachel rolls the ball towards her and flicks it up into the air, catching it in her hands with practised ease. Quinn rolls her eyes and holds her hand out, raising her eyebrows.

"Can I have my ball back please?" She asks, not in the mood to hold a conversation with Rachel, despite her desperately wanting to know why her parents hadn't shouted at her.

"I didn't tell my parents" Rachel says, answering Quinn's silent question. She juggles the ball between her hands, her eyes trained on Quinn.

Quinn drops her hand "Why?" her eyes drop to Rachel's hands, seeing that they're covered up by gloves. It's not cold enough to wear gloves yet, though. Her eyes move to lock with Rachel's. It's then when she notices something strange.

She sees something in Rachel's eyes that she's never seen before. She can't place what it is, but it's different from the malice she normally sees. It baffles her, Why would Rachel look at her like that? As fast as it was there, it's gone again, replaced by the hatred Quinn's used to seeing. She watches as a smirk pulls up on Rachel's face, her back shivering as she anticipates Rachel's next words.

"You wouldn't be much use locked away. I need to defeat you fair and square at the tournament"

Quinn feels her body deflate at Rachel's words. Why? Why is she disappointed by hearing that?

"Just so we're clear" Rachel continues "I'm done playing nice. When I get my revenge, it's going to be good" she growls before throwing the ball at Quinn who catches it just in time.

Quinn watches as Rachel walks away, completely baffled.

What baffled her even more though is...what was that she saw in Rachel's eyes? And what words did she wish to hear Rachel say?

* * *

**Review please!**

**Thank you **

**xx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Thank you guys for the reviews on the last chapter, a few still did not find any sympathy with Rachel, which I totally understand. This chapter will give a teeny tiny bit of why she is the way she is, but not a lot.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: this is for the rest of my fic: I do not and will never own Glee**

* * *

The can swings in her hand as she paces backwards and forwards. It hits against her leg repeatedly with a gentle 'thump'. Over and over again, it's just going 'Thump...thump..thump...' as she continues to pace. She ignores the feeling of the cool metal hitting her leg as she mumble under her breath, hitting her palm against her forehead. Along with the 'thump' sound, is the scratching sound of blunt nails against her nose and hands.

'Thump, scratch, thump, scratch, scratch, thump' it goes as her shoes hit against the concrete. She stops and looks to the side, spotting a window with her reflection in it. She touches her face and hair, spotting many imperfections before spinning away from the mirror. She scratches at her nose again and sniffs.

"Just do it. It's been a week. You'll be expected to do something" She mumbles to herself. Taking a deep breath, she pushes the red doors open and walks through the empty corridors. Spotting the correct locker, she skids to a halt and quickly dials the number that first comes to her head-Quinn's birth date.

She smiles victoriously when the locker clicks open. Her smile fades, however, when her eyes land on the mirror taped onto the inside of the locker door. She stares at her face again, scratching at her nose then hands. In anger, she rips the mirror off and throws it onto the floor, kicking it away from herself.

Looking down at the can of green gloop in her hands, she pauses. In the back of her mind, there's someone stopping her, telling her no. She sighs and drops her hand. She shouldn't do this, it's not right. Quinn wasn't to know how badly her prank would affect her. Quinn didn't start the pranking, she just responded to Rachel's prank. But she did do that thing in elementary school...

"Hey!"

Rachel's head whips to the side, a gasp falling from her lips upon seeing the New Direction's manager. The can in her hands falls to the floor with a clank as she rushes off down the hallway, the director following her. She looks behind herself to check if he's following her still, only to hit into someone and fall onto her back with a 'oomph'.

"Well, what do we have here?" she looks up, spotting the unimpressed Coach Washington staring down at her. Rachel doesn't say anything, she only continues to stare at the woman "Seems like you've got your scrawny ass in a pickle" Roz says, rocking back on her heels.

"Miss Berry" The glee director comes to a stop behind her "You're coming with me to the principals office" he says, helping the younger girl up.

"I don't go here though" Rachel says in confusion. She follows the director anyway, Roz walking behind her.

"With the amount you are here, you might as well be" Roz says.

Rachel's eyes widen when they arrive back at Quinn's locker. Standing in front of said locker, is the blonde herself, looking very confused. Rachel holds back a smile at how adorable the girl looks, her head tilted to the side as she examines her open locker. If she had longer ears, she'd resemble a confused puppy.

"Quinn"

Quinn looks over at them, her eyes settling onto Rachel. Rachel looks at her in surprise when no hint of malice or hatred is thrown her way by Quinn. Instead, Quinn looks straight to her hands. Instantly, Rachel starts to scratch at her hands furiously, becoming increasingly insecure under the blonde's gaze, her breathing quickens slightly as she becomes paranoid. She breathes a sigh of relief when Quinn finally looks away from her hands. She was seconds away from breaking the skin again.

"Mr Schue" Quinn says, finally addressing the teacher.

"I caught Miss Berry here breaking into your locker" Quinn just nods, her eyes darting to Rachel. Rachel fidgets, her anxiety increasing again. She tries to fight the urge to scratch at her nose, but it becomes too strong and so she scratches at it, hissing slightly when her nail scratches a freshly healed wound.

"We're taking her to Figgins office. I expect you to come along as well"

"What? Why?"

"Because this will affect you as well" Mr Schue says before walking off again, this time with Quinn following them.

Rachel looks around nervously when she spots the glass windows around the Principals office. She gulps when they walk in, Mr Schue and Roz directing her and Quinn to the seats outside his office before they walk into chat to Figgins.

Rachel bites her lip and starts to scratch at her legs and stomach as she keeps spotting her reflection in the windows. It doesn't help that she can feel Quinn's gaze on her, causing her to scratch even harder.

"Are you okay?" Quinn asks in a surprisingly timid voice.

"I'm fine" Rachel growls out tersely, continuing to scratch at her legs, soon moving to her hands again.

She can literally feel Quinn's eyes lighting up a flame on her arms, causing them to tingle. She starts to scratch at her arms, feeling her blunt nails begin to rip into her skin. She jumps when she feels Quinn's hand lie on top of hers, stopping her movement. Rachel looks at Quinn sharply and narrows her eyes. Quinn looks back at her with a cold stare as they silently argue. Eventually, Rachel rips her hand away from Quinn's, ignoring the goose bumps travelling up her arm.

"Come in" Roz says, holding the door to Figgins office open.

Rachel runs out of her seat and sits down into the chair opposite the Principal. He looks at her with a some surprise, but soon deflates and jumps straight into action.

"It has come to my attention that you two have been arguing for a while now"

Both girls nod.

"And so, Mr Schue and Coach Washington have come to an agreement with Dustin Goolsby and Coach Treadwell. For two weeks, Miss Berry will be attending McKinley"

"WHAT!" The girls scream at the same time.

"There's no way I'm going to the same school as her..."

"Why am I being punished for this!..."

The girls shout over each other, trying to get their points across. "Teenagers!" Figgins shouts over them, finally quieting the two down.

"It's only for two weeks. It will be up until the tournament and sectionals at which time Miss Berry can decide if she'd like to stay here at McKinley or go back to Carmel high"

"My Farthers will not stand for this!" Rachel says, getting up from her chair.

"Actually, we already contacted you parents and they agreed to it, stating they were fed up with this rivalry between you and Quinn" Mr Schue says, stepping in.

Rachel looks down at Quinn and glares at her. Anger boils within her body as she stares at the flawless girl still sitting in the chair, looking at her in confusion "This is your fault!"

"Me? How is it my fault?" Quinn asks in outrage, standing up from her chair and towering over Rachel.

Rachel growls and shakes her head, storming out of the office. She doesn't like this. Not one bit.

* * *

She sits in her room lazily throwing a ball up and down and catching it. She doesn't have the energy to do anything else. She doesn't feel like practicing scales, or updating her Myspace or even using her epileptical. She just feels dead.

She mumbles 'come in' when a soft knock sounds at her door. Leroy's happy face pokes through, then his body, his frame taking up the whole door space. His smile falls when he sees the tired and dejected look on his daughters face.

"Baby what's wrong?" he asks, walking into the room and closing the door behind him. He walks over to Rachel's bed and sits himself down, running his hand up and down Rachel's leg comfortingly.

Rachel sighs softly, starting to calm down slightly from her daddy's loving touch "I just feel drained."

Leroy spots the fresh scratches on his daughter's hands and frowns softly. He gently takes her hand and examines the wounds, shaking his head slightly "Did you take your tablets today?" he asks softly.

Rachel nods and takes her hand back, hiding it away from his sight. She rolls over on her side, her eyes looking at her non reflective window, spotting Quinn's open window. She just wants the blonde to come home already and start to play her guitar. It always calms her down and makes her forget about everything when she hears the soft tune of the blonde's guitar and her melodic voice.

"I know you're upset about the agreement we made, but your Dad and I-as well as Judy and Russell- believe that it's the best thing to do. It also might help your condition, you know, if you finally bury that hatchet with Quinn."

"They haven't told her have they?" Rachel asks, sounding incredibly vulnerable. She always does whenever her condition is brought up. She felt extremely vulnerable around Judy and Russell when her Dad's first told them. She made them promise not to tell Quinn.

"No, they haven't, just like you asked. But why don't you want her to know?"

"Because, I'm afraid that if she knows, I'll lose her. With my condition, I feel like this is the only way I can connect with her. If she knows...she'll avoid me like the plague, she'll think I'm a- I'm a freak. If being mean and horrible are the only ways I can have any sort of interaction with her, over not having any, I'll take it"

"Honey" Leroy says "If you told Quinn, she'd be more understanding. She won't think you're a freak"

Rachel shakes her head, feeling tears spring to her eyes "She will. She thinks I'm a freak already. I am a freak"

"Rachel Barbra Berry!" Leroy scolds "I won't tolerate any of that smack directed towards yourself. You are beautiful, you aren't a freak"

"Look at me!" Rachel spins round to face him "I'm not perfect like Quinn! I have a huge nose, short legs and manly hands! Why would anyone find me attractive?" Rachel says, tears falling down her face as she frantically scratches at her hands again.

Leroy's heart breaks for his daughter again. He hates that she's like this, that she has this condition. It's made life so much harder for herself, it's made it harder for her to accept herself. He holds back his own tears upon seeing his daughter's distress and grabs her hands.

"Calm down Rachel" he gently soothes, trying to calm her.

Rachel shakes her head and tries to pull her hands away "I'm hideous! Inside and out! No one would want me!" she screams, kicking her legs as she tries to wiggle free.

Leroy quickly wraps his arms around his daughter and pulls her towards him. He gently rocks her backwards and forwards, not relenting his hold as she punches his chest. Her therapist told him that if she freaks out, he needs to hold her to him and rock her. Don't let her go, don't let her harm herself.

Rachel calms slightly, her fists finally seizing their hits against Leroy's broad chest. Instead she cries in his arms, mumbling about herself and Quinn and life.

It takes a lot of strength for Leroy not to break down to. He hates it when she gets like this. He has no control over it.

* * *

Rachel stands outside the park's gates, watching Quinn as she rides down the half pipe, doing a flip trick as she flies into the air, before dropping back onto the half pipe. She sighs and leans her arms onto the gate, smiling at the look of determination on Quinn's perfect face.

Rachel scratches at her nose and her hands as she continues to stare before finally looking away. She winces slightly as she spots the red marks on her hands, she almost cut through the skin again. She looks back up, spotting that Quinn had moved onto the double rails, smoothly grinding across them.

"You shouldn't do this to yourself"

Rachel looks to the side, smiling softly when she sees Puck come to a stop next to her, a look of concern on his face.

"I know" she sighs "But I can't not do it"

She feels Puck lift her hands up, inspecting them. He gently runs his fingers over the scars on her hand. She knows Puck hates it when she does this and she knows that he hates he can't stop her from doing it. No one can, apart from her.

"Why do you do this?" Puck asks, dropping her hands and moving to the same position as Rachel "Why do you watch her when she's here or playing soccer, or listen when she sings and plays her guitar"

Rachel looks down at her hands and rubs them self consciously "It calms me. She seems to be the only one who can stop me from doing it and she doesn't even know. But she's also the one who can make me do it"

"But didn't she cause it? Didn't she make you the way you are?"

Rachel shakes her head, tucking her hands into her pockets to hide them from view. She forgot to bring her gloves with her.

"She triggered it. That's why I take my anger and self hatred out on her. I can't help it, it's just the way it goes. My psychiatrist said that people with my condition are likely to act hostile to those of the opposite sex, or if we're homosexual, the same sex." Rachel breathes deeply, biting her lip "I hate it. I hate that I act the way I do to her. I hate that I've become the percentage of gay children that have gay parents. That's the last thing I wanted"

"That's why you're with Finn"

"That's why. To save my farthers' further prejudice."

"I don't get it" Rachel looks over at Puck in confusion "If being around her makes you worse, why do you go out of your way to see her as much as you can without being at the same schools?"

"Because she makes it better as well. I can't not be around her. It's so frustrating! I don't want to be near her, but at the same time I do."

"You need to tell her" Puck says softly, wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulders.

"I don't. She doesn't need to know. She can't know"

"Why?"

"If she knows, she'll leave. She won't want anything to do with a weirdo like me, even if it is hatred. I'd rather have her angry at me then not have her at all"

"She's hurt though Rach. She has no idea as to why you started to act so horrible towards her. She did the only thing she knew how to: She guarded herself"

Rachel stares out into the park. Quinn's now moved onto the quarter pipe, lining herself at the top to ride down towards the vert wall opposite.

"Could you leave please?" she asks softly, not looking away from Quinn, her hands twitching in her pockets.

Puck nods and pulls Rachel closer to him, placing a kiss to the top of her head. As he does this, Quinn takes off down the ramp towards the vert wall. Rachel watches as she glances over at Rachel, double taking when Puck kisses her head. Just as Puck walks away, Quinn rides up the vert wall, but her attention is on Rachel. Rachel gasps when Quinn tumbles at the top, falling down and skidding along the pavement.

Rachel calls out to Puck, stopping him from getting into his truck before running through the gate and up to Quinn. Quinn groans and sits herself up, looking at her bloody arm. Rachel immediately squats down and takes Quinn's arm into her hand, inspecting for further damage. She gently turns Quinn's arm, listening out for any hisses of pain from the blonde. Upon hearing none, Rachel nods to herself and lets go of Quinn's arm. When she looks up, she's surprised to see the shocked face of Quinn looking back at her.

"Nothing seems to be broken" Rachel says to Puck once he joins her.

"You alright Q?"

Rachel shifts uncomfortably under Quinn's gaze and goes to scratch at her nose, only for Puck's hand to grab hers, holding it away from her face. Quinn narrows her eyes at the movement then looks to Puck. She nods stiffly and picks herself up from the ground.

"Just a graze"

"A graze!" Rachel squeaks out "That's a gash! You're going to need stitches!" She says, still squeaking.

Quinn looks at Rachel with unease, confused as to why Rachel is acting this way and why she is here with Puck in the first place.

"I'll take you to the hospital." Puck says, picking up Quinn's skateboard. Quinn nods, casting one more curious gaze at Rachel and following Puck to his truck.

Rachel watches the blonde go and bites her lip anxiously. Great, now she's freaked the girl out. She should have just acted with bitchiness instead of caring friend. It's not her place to care for Quinn.

She sighs and makes her way back home. She takes a detour to her old elementary school. She doesn't get out of the car, she just sits there and looks out to the playground. She spots the swing set. The swing set where she and Quinn would sit for the majority of lunch and talk to each other. They'd discuss singing, their lunches, what their favourite TV show was and so much more. It was wonderful. She then looks over to the jungle gym. The place where it all started. Memories fill her mind as it all comes back to her. She subconsciously scratches her hands as she stares at the play ground.

After an hour of just sitting and staring, Rachel makes her way back home. As she steps out of her car, she spots Quinn exiting Puck's truck, her Skateboard tucked under her left arm with a bandaged right arm. Shutting her car door shut, Rachel makes her way towards the blonde. Her heart clenches slightly when Quinn looks up at her and immediately takes step back. She shouldn't feel hurt by the movement, she did bring it on herself after all, but it still does.

Her eyes glance to the blonde's bandaged arm before she looks back. She clears her throat and scratches her hand before speaking "How bad was it?" she asks gently.

Quinn raises an eyebrow at her gentle question "Needed a few stitches" she answers just as gently, confusion written all over her face.

Rachel nods "Don't get them wet"

"I know. The Doctor told me not to"

Rachel clears her throat awkwardly "I'm glad you're okay" panic fills her body when complete surprise flows over Quinn's face, she quickly adds "I can defeat you easier" before adding a smirk. She feels guilty as the look of sadness and disappointment fills Quinn's face.

Quinn nods stiffly "Watch your back Man hands" Rachel starts to scratch at her hand "just because you helped me today doesn't mean you're off scot free. I knew you tried to prank me earlier. Now it's my turn"

Rachel takes her hands away from each other as she feels the skin start to become sore. Self hate fills her up from her toes, making her angry as she looks down at her hands. They look so disgusting with all these scars and wounds. It just adds to her. She can't deal with this anger, so she does what she can't help but do. She takes it out on Quinn.

"I wouldn't have it any other way. You may think this was going to stop with me coming to your pathetic school, but it's only made it easier for me to get my own back on you. Be careful Fabray" she hisses before spinning round and storming into her home.

She ignores the concerned calls of her parents and marches straight into her bathroom. As soon as the door locks behind her, her lungs start to constrict. Air seems to escape her as she starts to breathe in and out heavily, desperately trying to gain air. Her heart races in her chest, her brain starts to pound against her skull. She tries to take a deep breath, but she only chokes, gasping angrily as it's seemingly impossible for her to breathe.

She looks down at her hands, staring at the scars and marks over them. Rachel begins to scratch at the freshly made scars, desperately wanting to pick the skin away and try and grow new, prettier skin. Her lungs slowly start to release themselves, air filling her up again as she hisses in pain once she breaks through the barrier of skin. Her heart race calms as air fills her lungs again. Her breathing slowly comes back to normal.

With blood trickling down her hand, Rachel slides down the wall, barely registering Hiram and Leroy kicking the door open and rushing to her. She looks at Hiram as he wraps her hand in a bandage but doesn't see him. She's relishing in the feeling of her anger draining away from her, herself hatred going away. This always helps the scratching. It helps her to release.

She just registers her Daddy's arm circling her again much like before, feeling his tears drop onto her head. She only smiles, finally able to feel pretty.

* * *

**Review please!**

**Thank you for reading**

**xx**


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm so so so sorry guys for the very late update! I had to re-write this chapter so many times. First of all, I lost all of the document on Tuesday, so I started re-writing it on Wednesday THEN my computer crashed on Thursday and word hadn't saved half of what I wrote and so I've been writing since Friday. I hope you enjoy it!**

**Thank you to ****ILGsowhat who is Beta-ing this story. They have yet to Beta this chapter, but I wanted to put this up for you guys for tonight as I've made you wait long enough. I will edit it if they find any mistakes ect.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee**

* * *

Quinn stares at the cabin in front of her. She's been here so many times as a little kid. She smiles at the memories that flood her mind. Her smile soon falls when a car door shuts and feet trod along the wet muddy ground to stand next to her. Her frown deepens when she hears the car drive away, leaving just herself, her guitar, her skateboard and...

Rachel Berry for company for five days.

How did she get here you ask? Well, we'll tell you.

* * *

_(Monday)_

Quinn leans against her locker, her fingers lightly picking at the stitches on her arm. They itch so much! Dam Rachel and distracting her, this would never have happened if Rachel hadn't of been there.

'_Or if you hadn't of looked away'_

Quinn growls at herself, not liking that her subconscious is contradicting her AND being correct. She drops her arm and sighs, letting her head fall back against the cool metal behind her. Something was different with Rachel that day. The way Rachel looked at her and the way she looked at Rachel. She knew it wasn't the same as before. She didn't see any malice behind Rachel's shining eyes, she saw the girl she first knew. It warmed her heart a little.

She wishes to have that Rachel back. The Rachel who kissed her knee when she feel off of the swings in elementary school, and grazed it. The Rachel who picked up a daisy and stuck it Quinn's hair, shyly saying how pretty she looked.

She doesn't like seeing present Rachel. The spiteful, sometimes miserable girl that she argues with. She knows she shouldn't have retaliated to Rachel when the arguing first started, but her ego got in the way and she...she couldn't help herself. What confuses her though is the scratching the girl does. She always seems to have a permanent itch on her hands and her nose. Always scratching. Also, she seems to have a lack of mirrors in her room whenever Quinn's had a sneak peak over. How does the girl get ready in the morning without a mirror?

Upon thinking about itching, she feels the unrelenting itch attacking her stitches. Groaning Quinn lifts her arm up again and starts to scratch around them, desperately trying to stop it.

"You shouldn't scratch them" Quinn continues to scratch and looks to the owner of the voice. She smiles when she sees Ramona standing next to her. "You'll infect them"

Quinn whines slightly "But they are so itchy!"

Ramona chuckles and holds out a tube of ointment to the scratching blonde. Quinn looks between the ointment and Ramona, raising an eyebrow in question.

Ramona rolls her eyes "It's to stop the itching."

"Oh" Quinn smiles thankfully. She rubs the ointment onto her skin and smiles as the itching goes away, leaving the soothing feeling of the cream on her skin "Thank you"

"No problem. I'll see you on the Soccer pitch" Ramona gives Quinn a cute wave before walking off down the hall.

Quinn smiles at her retreating body, her hand clutching the tube in her hand. She hears someone roll up behind her and make an appreciative sound.

"Yo Q" Quinn looks down and smiles at Artie.

"Hey" They both begin to make their journey down the hallway, chatting away to each other.

"...I need to think of ways to get Rachel back" Quinn says.

Artie stops outside of Quinn's classroom and raises an eyebrow at her "Isn't the whole point of her coming here for you two to settle things out?"

"There's no chance in hell we will. Mr Schue was crazy to think this scheme would work"

"You seem to be fixated on her a lot though" Quinn raises an eyebrow at Artie "You take extra time in planning ways to prank her, whereas with anyone else you just make a snap decision. Why take such care for her?"

Quinn furrows her eyebrows together in confusion "I-What?"

"All I'm saying is, you tend to take more care when pranking her, maybe you care for her" Artie shrugs, his eyes settling on a bucket balanced on top of the slighty ajar door of Quinn's class.

"Whatever" His eyes widen when he sees Quinn reach for the handle, not noticing the trap above the door.

"No Quinn-" He doesn't have time to finish because whilst he was speaking, Quinn yanked the door open, causing the bucket to fall onto her head. He wipes off the corn syrup that flew onto his face, his mouth falling agape as he watches the corn syrup drip down from Quinn's bucket covered head onto her clothes.

Quinn stays stiff as she feels the sticky syrup travel down her back and her chest. She shakes with anger, how dare Berry do this to her? How dare she!

With stiff movements, Quinn takes the bucket off of her head and throws it onto the ground, her eyes zeroing in on the smirking eyes of Rachel Berry sitting in her classroom in her seat. The cheek of her!

"Miss Fabray?" Quinn looks over to the teacher who is obviously trying to hold back a laugh "You can go clean yourself up"

Quinn nods at the teacher, sending on last glare to Berry, silently telling her it's game on before making her way through the crowd of students and to the bathroom.

* * *

_(Tuesday)_

Quinn decided to not get Rachel back that day. She wanted to watch the girl quiver with fear every time she would turn a corner or open her locker. It was amusing to watch the girl jump every time Finn would wrap his arm around her shoulders. But then Quinn would glare at said arm, silently wishing she could burn it off of the petite girl's shoulders.

The blonde is leaning against her locker, silently watching Rachel and Finn exchange words down at the girl's locker. They seem to be in a pretty heated discussion, Rachel's stomped her foot at least twice-to which Quinn found cute but will never admit- and Finn has his angry baby face on with his ugly pout on his lips.

"Who you looking at?" Santana slides up next to Quinn, looking down at where Quinn is looking, a light bulb going off in her head "You thinking of ways to fuck with Berry?"

Quinn shakes her head "I'm watching to see what happens between these two"

"Why? It's just Frankenteen and the freak hobbit arguing"

"Because, there might be something there that I can use against Rachel"

"You want me to find out? Maybe we can get Finnessa to cheat on her, get her back from when she stole him from you"

Quinn shakes her head "No. I know what that feels like and it's shit." Her eyes zero in on Rachel scratching at her hands as Finn angrily gestures to her clothing.

Santana notices Finn's angrily growling at the clothing, a smirk forming on her face "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Rid her of those hideous clothes?"

"Yup"

Quinn smirks, a plan forming in her head. She remembers back to a few science lessons ago, she remembers the foam exploding everywhere, covering everyone. "I've got a plan" she says before grabbing Santana's arm and dragging her off to the science labs. Neither notice Ramona and Puck watching Quinn with disappointment, both of them having over heard their conversation.

* * *

"Quickly" Quinn hisses as Santana breaks into Rachel's locker. She looks up and down the corridors, double checking that the coast is clear before nodding at the Latina, telling her to open the door and set the trap up.

Santana giggles evily as she begins to set up the trap so when Rachel opens her locker door, the potassium iodide solution will pour into the hydrogen peroxide solution and detergent mixture that Quinn has placed on top of the girl's books.

The bell rings just as Santana finishes setting up the trap. She quickly shuts the door and the girls scurry away to hide behind a corner with a clear view of Rachel's locker. They quickly discard the gloves they were wearing, watching with anticipation as Rachel walks towards her locker.

Quinn bites her lip, starting to doubt this plan. Just as she's about to move to try and stop Rachel, the brunette swings open her locker door. The clang of metal against metal is followed by a shocked scream as the foam flows over Rachel, drenching her in the foamy solution. Instantly, laughter fills the hallway, phone camera's going off as they record Rachel's humiliation.

Guilt rushes through Quinn when she sees Rachel begin to frantically scratch at her hands, fear and anxiety written all over her face. Quinn's heart breaks when they make eye contact. With Santana laughing loudly next to her, Rachel knows it was Quinn who set this up. Anger flares up in Rachel's eyes, fury ignites in them as she glares at Quinn.

Ramona appears out of nowhere and quickly wraps Rachel in a towel, walking her off to the girl's lockers. Incidentally, the lockers are down the hallway Quinn and Santana are standing in.

"Nice look Berry, you should wear everyday instead of those hideous sweaters" Santana sneers at Rachel.

Quinn doesn't say anything, she just stares at Rachel with guilt. Rachel doesn't meet her eyes though and avoids looking at the blonde. Instead, Quinn makes eye contact with Ramona. Ramona gives Quinn a look of disapproval and shakes her head. Quinn has enough decency in her to feel ashamed and hangs her head, feeling like a kicked puppy.

She doesn't see Rachel or Ramona for the rest of the day. Both seemed to avoid her like the plague. She tried to talk to Ramona, explain everything to her, but the blue haired girl just turned in the opposite direction and walked away, pretending to not hear a word Quinn was saying.

To say Quinn was sorry is an understatement. She was ashamed.

* * *

_(Wednesday)_

Quinn charges down the field, looking for a clearing to run into. Her breathing is laboured as she looks around rapidly, trying to find any sort of opening. She can't, the pitch is like a ants nest. Team members litter every corner, blocking of every opponent. There's nowhere for her to go.

Her boots sink into the muddy ground as she pauses in her running, trying to gain her breath back. She hunches over, trying to wet her pallet as her mouth goes dry. Her knees are dirty from the mud, her shorts stained with grass, the red of her boots can barely be seen through the mud coating every inch of them. It's great. This is how it's meant to be, all dirty and exhilarating.

She realising what's happening until she's lying on her back, her vision blurry as she looks up at the cloudy sky. She feels a thumping sensation on her nose and the back of her head but doesn't know what's going on. One minute she was hunched over, the next she's on her back, unable to see properly and with something pounding against her nose.

"Q!" She hears someone shout, but doesn't really register it. She smiles lazily when Rachel's head appears in her line of sight.

"Rachel" She whispers, she doesn't notice the way Rachel's smirk falls into a look of surprise, or even that she is trying to touch Rachel's cheek. As soon as Rachel was there, she's gone again, replaced by a worried Santana.

"Oh my god Q!"

"San?" Quinn asks, bleary eyed. She vaguely makes out Santana crouching down next to her, holding a hand in front of her face.

"How many fingers am I holding up?" She hears Santana ask. It sounds like she's underwater, Santana's voice is muffled and all liquid-y in her mind. She blinks rapidly, trying to focus on the fingers held up in front of her.

She just about makes them out "Th-three?" She asks, not quite sure of her choice.

"Oh thank god" She watches as Santana breathes a sigh of relief before standing up "You're so dam lucky she hasn't got a concussion Berry or I would have killed your tiny short ass by now!" She hears Santana shout over to the left of her.

"Quinn?" Quinn rolls her head to the side, smiling when she sees Roz looking down at her "Can you sit up for me?"

Quinn furrows her eyebrows together and starts to push herself up onto her elbows. She wobbles slightly, her head spinning out of control and she lifts herself up. She pauses, waiting for the dizzy ness to pass before pushing herself up further. She feels someone's hand on her back and stomach, helping her up and holding her in place. She smiles at their touch and leans onto the person, nuzzling their neck with a lazily smile.

"Quinn, honey, do you feel sick at all?" The person asks. Quinn shakes her head and snuggles into their neck, giggling when blue hair falls in front of her eyes.

"Ramona, can you take Quinn to the nurse please, have her check her nose out, I have a feeling she's going to get a nasty bruise there" Roz asks.

Quinn feels Ramona nod before the blue haired girl is helping her up onto her feet. She sways slightly and presses a hand to her head, not liking the way her brain feels like is swimming about.

"Ow!" She whines, hitting her palm against her forehead.

Ramona pauses, allowing Quinn to adjust. Quinn pulls herself away from Ramona so she's not a snuggled into her, finally getting her vision back. She blinks slightly, her eyes focusing on Rachel. Rachel's eyes are narrowed, focused on something else on Quinn's waist. Quinn looks down and sees Ramona's arm wrapped round her waist, keeping her from falling over again.

"Come on Quinn" Ramona coaxes gently, softly leading Quinn off to the nurse.

Quinn looks back at Rachel, frowning slightly when Rachel glares at Ramona before turning back to the game. Didn't Ramona help Rachel out earlier?

* * *

"Well, you're very lucky Quinn, you're only going to have some slight bruising round your nose." The nurse smiles at Quinn handing her an ice pack before rolling away to her desk.

"How long is it going to take to heal?" Quinn asks, wincing as she places the ice pack against her bruising nose. Her dizziness has finally gone and all she's left with now is the pulsing pain at her nose.

"Only a couple of days. I suggest you take tomorrow off to let it heal slightly. Would you like me to clean your stitches?" The nurse asks, pointing to Quinn's muddy arm "You really shouldn't have played Soccer with your stitches unprotected, they can get easily infected this way and then the Doctors would have to chop your arm off"

Quinn's eyes widen in fear "What?!"

The nurse chuckles and rolls back over to Quinn with antiseptic wipes in her hands. She gently lifts up Quinn's stitched arm and begins to clean the dirt off "I'm only joking." She pats Quinn's arm softly, still wiping away some of the dirt. She lifts the wipe up to show Quinn all of the dirt, both grimace as she throws it away, reaching for a new one.

A knock sounds at the door, dragging their attention away from Quinn's stitches "Come in" The nurse calls out.

The door opens and in walks Puck with a small smile on his face. Quinn smiles at him, but then grimaces when a shooting pain flies through her nose.

"Hey Puck" Quinn greets from behind the ice pack.

Puck walks further into the room and stands by the bed awkwardly as he waits for the nurse to finish. Once done, the nurse smiles at Puck and draws the curtain, giving the two teens a little privacy.

"Rachel told me what happened" He says. He ignores Quinn rolling her eyes and carries on "She says she's really sorry"

"What? She thinks sending you in here to apologizing for her is going to make me forgive her?" Quinn scoffs "Forget it"

"Please Quinn, this has got to stop before someone gets hurt"

"Newsflash!" Quinn removes the icepack from her nose "I already am hurt! She kicked me in the face with a Soccer ball!"

"I didn't mean you, I meant Rach. She's really vulnerable, more vulnerable than you might think"

Quinn glares at Puck "Why do you care about her so much? She's been nothing but horrible to me since we were little!"

"Because she's different Quinn! She's different from all of us okay!"

"Yeah, she's a freak"

If looks could kill, Quinn would be six feet under right now. Puck is glaring at her with such anger she fears he may punch her, even though she knows Puck would never hit a girl, let alone her "Do not call her a freak. She is not a freak. You don't know the first thing about her!"

"Well then tell me! Tell me so I do know!" Quinn shouts.

"You kids alright?" The nurse asks from behind the curtain hesitantly.

"Yes Miss, we're fine" Quinn says.

As the nurse shuffles away from the curtain, Puck turns back to Quinn, this time speaking with just a whisper "I can't tell you. She's the one who has to tell you okay? But please, stop all of this"

Quinn eyes Puck for a moment and bites her lip thoughtfully. He fidgets uncomfortably under Quinn's gaze. She's the only one to make him do so, there's just something about her eyes that sort of look right into you. It's unnerving.

"You're sleeping with her, aren't you?" Quinn asks, her eyes narrowed.

Puck shakes his head "What! No! Why would you think that?"

"She and Finn were arguing yesterday, you're with her a lot and you care about her"

"She's my friend Quinn, nothing more! Besides, it's not me who she likes"

"It's Ramona isn't it? She and Ramona are sleeping together"

"No! You know as much as I do that Ramona is like Brittany, she sees the good in everyone and barely judges them. She was just being kind to Rachel! Ramona isn't the one she likes"

"Then who?"

Puck tilts his head to the side, his eyes narrowing thoughtfully "You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what!?" Quinn asks, starting become exasperated.

Puck just shakes his head and pats Quinn's grass stained knee "You figure it out. You're smart" with that he leaves the room, leaving a very baffled Quinn in his wake.

* * *

_(Friday)_

Quinn walks into Glee with a scarf wrapped round her face, avoiding eye contact with almost everyone in the room. She silently takes a seat beside Ramona, only giving the blue haired girl a head nod as a hello before casting her eyes to the ground.

She prays Mr Schue doesn't ask her to do anything today. Oh god how does she pray. Just because she was nominated as Co-Captain, doesn't mean she wishes to perform almost every meeting. But Mr Schue always seems to have a different idea. Without fail he always calls Quinn up to the front, asking her to give the group and example song that links with the weeks assignment. She once asked Mr Schue if she could stop doing so and he picks on someone else, but his only reply was:

"_You're Co-Captain of this club Quinn, that means you have to set an example"_

It made Quinn so mad. She didn't even want to be Co-Captain, they all just nominated her because they couldn't be bothered to it themselves and apparently she has leader ship skills. Quinn rolls her eyes at the memory. This dam club sometimes.

"All right guys, I'd like you all to welcome out new member: Rachel Berry!" Mr Schue says as he runs into the room, quickly followed by a smug looking Rachel. Puck and Finn are the only ones who clap, everyone else just looks at Mr Schue in shock.

"WHAT! BUT SHE'S THE ENEMY!"

"SHE'S A SPY"

"SHE'S A DANGER TO ALL OF US IN THE ROOM!"

Everyone shouts over each other, listing off reasons as to why she shouldn't be here. Quinn stays silent, as well as Finn, Puck and Ramona. She doesn't want any part of this. She just wants to sit through this, get and go.

"Enough!" Mr Schue says "I can't believe how horrible you are all being! Glee is the only place in this school where everyone is accepted, regardless of their past, present or future!" He glares at all of them "I am so disappointed in you guys"

"Give her a chance" Ramona says, everyone's head whips towards her "So she made a few mistakes in her life, hurt a few people. But every deserves a second chance" she directs the last part to Quinn, pointedly looking at her. Quinn just sinks lower in her seat, tucking her face into her scarf even more.

"Yeah." Finn says, deciding to stick up for his girlfriend "She's my girlfriend guys, give her a chance"

Rachel rolls her eyes at Finn, clearly not impressed by his attempt.

Mr Schue looks over at Quinn "What about you Quinn? How do you feel about it?"

Quinn clears her throat and muffles something into her scarf. Mr Schue furrows his eyebrows together and motions for her to tug the scarf down. With great reluctance, Quinn does so, wincing when it pulls on her nose slightly. She refuses to look at anyone's reaction upon seeing the purple blue splotch around her nose.

"The hobbit can join if she wants. Just don't spread any of your hobbit germs onto us" Quinn says, glaring at Rachel.

"Quinn!" Mr Schue berates. He goes to tell her off further, but Rachel beats him to it.

"Well, I wouldn't want to catch your Dyke germs" A gasp fills the room upon the derogatory term used towards Quinn.

Quinn narrows her eyes at Rachel, her anger bubbling up inside of her. She can handle being called a lesbian, muff muncher, stem and queer, but no one, and they mean no one can ever call her a dyke. That's the one term she does not take. Quinn stands up from her chair and storms down the risers, ignoring Mr Schue's protests and gets right up into Rachel's face.

"I dare you to call me that one more time" she growls, her fists clenching and unclenching by her sides.

"Rachel, Quinn, enough!" Mr Schue demands, trying to stop the girls, but to no avail.

"D-Y-K-E Dyke" Rachel glares back at Quinn, standing her ground.

With a growl, Quinn shoves Rachel back so hard that she slams into the piano. Once she gains her balance, Rachel goes to lunge at Quinn the same time Quinn goes to lunge at her.

However, Quinn cannot move as Sam has wrapped his arms around Quinn's waist and held her back, Puck doing the same to Rachel. Mr Schue steps between the two battling girls as they try to rip themselves away from the boys holding them back.

"Figgins office. Now" He demands. Puck and Sam let the girl's go when they think it's safe and follow them to Figgin's, staying with them just in case they try to claw at each other's throats again.

Quinn glares at Rachel as they continue to walk down the hallway. Rachel avoids eye contact with her, her index finger scratching her hand, but this time it's a little softer and not like she wants to break through the skin. Almost like she's doing it out of habit.

Puck wraps his arm around Rachel's shoulder and pulls her close to him, glaring at Quinn over her head.

Quinn feels Sam go to do the same to her but she quickly fights his arm off, stepping further away from him.

All four come to a stop outside of the glass doors leading to Figgins office. Mr Schue walks up behind them and pushes the doors open, ushering Quinn and Rachel into the room and telling Puck and Sam they aren't needed. With great reluctance and much persuasion from the teacher, the two leave.

"Have a seat" he says before walking into Figgins office, leaving the two girls alone.

Quinn sits herself down on the far left seat, smoothing her hands over her jeans. She fiddles with the zip on her McKinley letterman jacket as the two wait in silence. Rachel has yet to take a seat, still standing in the middle of the room.

Quinn watches as Rachel constantly touches her face and her hair, her hands running through the thick, shiny locks self consciously. The brunette begins to pace, only stopping to look at her reflection in the glass before growling and turning away, running her fingers through her hair again. Quinn counts how many times Rachel does this.

Pace. Stop. Look. Growl...Pace. Stop. Look. Growl...over and over again.

As Rachel goes to repeat the cycle for the twentieth time, Quinn finally interrupts her.

"You look fine Rachel. Will you please stop pacing and sit down?" Quinn asks tiredly.

Rachel stops and stares at Quinn with her big brown eyes, not saying a single word. Quinn looks up at her and raises an eyebrow.

"What?" she snaps.

"You-You called me Rachel" Rachel whispers in shock.

"That's your name isn't it?" Quinn growls, too wound up and angry to talk with patience.

"Quinn!" Quinn's head snaps to the side when the booming voice of her dad floods the room. Quinn jumps up from her chair, a look of confusion on her face.

"Dad? What are you doing here?"

Russell stops in front of Quinn with a look of anger on his face "I could ask you the same thing! There I was, busy with my work when the principal calls and tells me you've been fighting!"

"I-"

"You are in so much trouble young lady!" he stops and smiles at Rachel "Hello Rachel, how are you?"

Before Rachel can answer, another booming voice interrupts her "RACHEL BARBARA BERRY!" Leroy storms through the doors and heads straight to his daughter.

Quinn watches sadness wash over Rachel's face as Leroy speaks "Never in my life did I ever think I would be disappointed by my daughter! Your farther and I raised you to avoid fighting because in the end-"

"No one wins" Rachel finishes sadly.

"Mr Fabray and Mr Berry, the principal will like to talk to you" Mr Schue says, walking out of Figgins office. Leroy and Russell glare at their daughters as they make their way into the office, closing the door behind them.

Mr Schue gives both girls a disappointed looks before leaving the area. Quinn watches him go with a glare, not liking the way he had looked at her. She sits down again and places a hand on her stitches, trying to rub the itch away.

She jumps when a hand covers the one rubbing at her stitches. She looks to the side, noticing that Rachel had sat down next to her and was the one to stop her from rubbing.

"It'll make it worse." She says softly.

Quinn glances down to the scars on Rachel's hands, a sad look appearing on her face "Going off firsthand experience?" Quinn asks but with a gentle tone, feeling that his must be a sore subject for Rachel.

At the comment, Rachel retracts her hand from Quinn's arm and tries to hide them away from Quinn's line of sight. She ends up tucking them under her sweater, her fingers starting to lightly scratch at the skin on her stomach "I don't know what you're talking about" Rachel says with fake ignorance.

"Your hands" Quinn says, nodding to the hidden hands "You scratch at them"

"I don't do anything" Rachel replies, slight panic rising in her voice.

"Yeah, you do"

"You're going mad"

"You're lying" Quinn says, narrowing her eyes at Rachel.

"Believe what you want Fabray, but I can assure you I do nothing of the sorts. Your imagination is innovative" Rachel says with heat.

"I'm not imagining things!" Quinn shouts, she grabs hold of Rachel's hands and tugs them out from under Rachel's jumper and points to the short pale scars adorning her skin "What are these then! How did you get them?" she asks, furious that Rachel was trying to brush her off.

"Quinn" Quinn looks up at her Dad. Russell stands in front of her, his face blank as her stares at his daughter "Let go of her hands"

Quinn does so, knowing if she doesn't listen to her Dad, she'll get into even more trouble she's already in.

"You've been suspended." Russell says softly "Both of you" He looks over at Rachel who's now huddled under Leroy's arm as he rubs his daughters arm reassuringly. "They told us everything that's happened this week. The pranks, the fighting. Enough is enough."

"Russell and I have come to a realisation. In order for you two to work this out, you need to be away from others and be around each other."

"So" Russell says, carrying on from Leroy "We've come up with an idea." He smirks "This is also counted as your punishment. For the duration of your Suspension-which is five days including the weekend-you two will be staying in the cabin Quinn and I go to over the summer with only enough clothes to last you the five days, food and two non-violent objects of your choice. But that does not include Cellphones, laptops, tablets or any sort of communication device."

"What? You can't do that!" Quinn argues.

Russell smiles "Actually, we can. We are both of your parents"

Leroy also smiles and makes eye contact with Russell. They silently exchange words, both secretly hoping that this will work. They can't take the arguing anymore.

"What does Dad think of it?" Rachel asks from under Leroy's arm.

"Your Dad and Judy were the ones who thought of it"

"I refuse to go! There's no way I'm staying with that Neanderthal!" Rachel says pointing over to Quinn.

Quinn glares at her "Oh like I want to be lumped with a Hobbit like you" She bites back.

"You are doing as we say!" Russell commands.

"When do we leave?" Quinn asks gruffly, sitting herself down in the chair.

"Saturday"

* * *

_(Saturday)_

Quinn huffs loudly, chewing angrily on the gum in her mouth. She watches the trees whizz past her as they travel along the road Quinn's been down every summer since she was seven. She knows every tree, every branch and every leaf like the back of her hand. She should be happy about being here so early, seeing the lush autumn colours rush past her window making it look like fire is blazing outside. But she's not, why? Because sitting only a seat away from her is Rachel Berry.

Unlike all of the other times Quinn has visited here with Russell, Quinn is definitely not looking forward to it. For five days she's going to be alone, in a cabin with no way of communicating to anyone else with Rachel Berry.

The car rolls to a soft stop outside of the familiar cabin. Wasting no time, Quinn gets out of the car and pulls open the boot, dragging out her suitcase, Skateboard and guitar. She trudges over to the side of the car, staring at the big dark oak door.

"Cheer up Quinnie!" Russell says, walking up besides Quinn and slapping a hand on her back. "You'll gain a friend out of this"

Quinn scoffs, popping the gum in her mouth "No I won't"

"You will, because if you two continue to fight, you're off the glee club and the soccer team, Figgins said so"

"What! Why?!"

Russell gives Quinn an incredulous look "Do I really have to tell you every fight you and Rachel have gotten into?" Quinn shakes her head "Good. We'll pick you up on Wednesday" He kisses her cheek before getting into the car, waiting for Leroy to say the same to Rachel before driving off leaving the two girls on their own.

Quinn looks over at Rachel. Rachel scowls at Quinn and places sunglasses over her eyes. Quinn rolls her eyes, it's not even fucking sunny!

Rachel storms forward and into the cabin, slamming the door behind her. Quinn shakes her head and kicks a rock away from her.

"This is going to fan-fucking-tastic" Quinn growls before following Rachel into the cabin.

* * *

**There's the chapter guys. I promise you that the chapters following will have more Faberry in it, and it won't all be angst! Yay!**

**Basically, the next five chapters will be on everything that happens in the five days the girls are at the cabin. I've had this planned from the beginning, but if you guys have any suggestions, I will consider putting them into the chapters, but that's not a definite yes.**

**Anyway, thanks so much for reading!**

**xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter for you! It's got a lot of Faberry moments and is rather fluffy at times.**

**The song used is called Nothing by Lewis Watson and I tell you now to get that up in another tab to listen to whilst reading the lyrics in the chapter, it's a wonderful song.**

* * *

Quinn lies on her bed, playing about with her bracelet. It's been three hours since Russell and Leroy dropped the girl's off and neither has said anything apart from when Quinn directed Rachel to the room Russell and Judy normally sleep in when they stay here. Hazel wonder round the familiar room, smiling when her eyes land on her old posters of different guitarists.

Some are old favourites such as Bryan May, Eddie Van Halen, Ace Frehley, Johnny Ramone, Joan Jett and Jimmy Page. Others are of newer bands/artists such as Ed Sheeran, Billy Joe Armstrong, Lee Gaze, Chris Miller and Taylor York.

Sighing, Quinn rolls of her bad-yes, rolls- and walks out of the room into the communal living area. She spots Rachel laid down on the biggest settee, iPod headphones in. Quinn watches silently as Rachel sings along to the lyrics, her eyes shut as she seems to really take in the music.

Music is one of the things that Quinn will admit Rachel excels at. You'd have to be death not to know how good of a singer the tiny brunette. Some days, when Quinn has her bedroom window open, she'll hear Rachel singing in her room and just lay on her bed and listen to the brunette's voice.

Rachel's eyes suddenly open and land on Quinn, spotting the blonde openly watching her. A blush creeps up on Rachel's cheeks as she makes eye contact with her before she looks down at her hands bashfully. Quinn smiles slightly at how cute Rachel seems to be when she's shy. Yeah, Quinn thinks Berry can be cute, so what?

"I'm going for a walk" Quinn mutters, tugging her shoes on.

"Wait, what?" Rachel asks sitting up "You're just going to leave me here?"

Quinn raises an eyebrow at her and leans against the door, her hand resting on the door knob "Yeah, so?"

Rachel's mouth bobs open and closed "S-so? You can't leave me here on my own! What if someone breaks in?!"

Quinn looks at Rachel with a look of incredulity "Berry, I've come here since I was little, no one else lives round here. It's just us in this cabin"

Rachel jumps up from the settee, her iPod forgotten as she stares at Quinn in horror "Just because no one lives round here doesn't mean we can still be murdered! Haven't you seen 'The Cabin in the Woods'?" she says, placing her hands on her hips.

Quinn shakes her head and sighs "Fine. Do you want to come with me?"

"Well, I need to decide if I do want to go outside. I's frightfully cold out there and I don't have a jacket with me so I could catch my death and-"

"Berry!" Quinn shouts, cutting of Rachel's rambling. Rachel's mouth immediately shuts, her hands beginning to scratch at each other as Quinn glares at her "Are you coming or not?" Quinn grounds out through clenched teeth.

Quinn doesn't give Rachel time to nod before she's out the door, walking along the gravely pathway just by the side of the cabin. She smiles when she spots her tree just inside the woods. She stops and runs her fingers of the bark, her finger tip gently grazing the graving she marked on the tree.

'_QF 3 RB'_

She had written that when she was little. It was done about a week after she met Rachel. She remembers how proud she felt when writing it, declaring her love for that Rachel to the woods. Then things changed. Rachel changed. Quinn changed. But yet, even though Quinn had the chance to scratch over the engraving every time they visited since then, she couldn't bring herself to do so. She got close to doing so a few years ago, but something stopped her.

Hope.

Hope that she'll see the Rachel she met before again. Hope that Rachel will change back. Hope that she'll find the strength to break past her own walls guarding her and stop being a horrible to Rachel as Rachel is to her. Even as the years went on and nothing did change, Quinn still has the little bit of hope in her.

"What's that?"

Quinn jumps and quickly spins round, blocking Rachel's view of the marking. "It's nothing"

Rachel raises a superstitious eyebrow and tries to look past Quinn, but the blonde just moves to keep her from seeing it. Rachel growls and stomps her foot "It's obviously something if you're trying to hide it from me"

"Like I said, it's nothing"

"Come on, let me see"

"No"

"Please?"

Quinn almost caves at the big doe eyes Rachel's giving her. The way her eyes sparkle in the sun transport Quinn back ten years ago to when she first met Rachel, back to the big brown eyes that had looked up at her, swirling with happiness. It makes her knees feel weak.

She glances behind her to the tree then back to Rachel. She bites her lip before shaking her head "No"

"Don't be a spoil sport"

"Oh my god will you drop it? I said no!" Quinn growls. Rachel veers back slightly and scratches her nose. She bites her lip and clasps her hands together, lightly swinging them in front of her.

"Sorry" She says, stepping back from Quinn.

Quinn nods and moves from the tree, making sure Rachel doesn't look to see as they walks up the hill, the leaves crunching beneath their feet. Quinn smiles when she pushes a big leaf out of the way, revealing a large serene lake gently moving with the light wind. She takes a deep breath, breathing in the fresh water smell with a huge smile on her face.

When she opens her eyes, she spots a flat pebble resting a little bit away from her feet. Not noticing Rachel's look of wonder, Quinn bends down and picks up the stone. With a flick foe hr wrist, she sends the pebble skipping along the top of the water, before a soft 'plop' sounds, signalling the law of physics won. She picks up another and does the same, still not noticing Rachel watching her. She's forgotten that the brunette is even there with her, the nature of the woods having taken over her senses.

She pauses mid throw though when she sees a small tanned hand grab hold of a clunky rock. She flinches slightly, thinking Rachel might throw the rock at her head. This time she does notice Rachel looking at her, this time with hurt.

'_Possibly because Quinn thought I would attack her with a rock'_ Rachel thinks to herself. She scoffs slightly under her breath and copies Quinn's movements, flicking her hand out. However, a pout forms on her lips when the rock just crashes through the water and sinks down the bottom. She growls slightly when she hears Quinn giggle at her failure. With determination, Rachel grabs another rock and throw it, frowning again when it does the same as the other. As she goes to pick up another, Quinn's hand gently stops her.

"First of all, you're using the wrong type of rock" Quinn says with surprise gentleness. Quinn picks up a flat pebble in one hand and a rock in another. "You see the difference?" she asks, holding them out on her palms for Rachel to see "The pebbles smooth and flat, allowing it to glide across the water." She throws the rock up into the air and catches it in her hand, holding it between her fingers "But the rock, it's clunky and pointy. It'll break the water before it even has a chance to glide"

Rachel nods, watching as Quinn drops the clunky rock and stands up again. Quinn steps up to Rachel, hovering her hands over Rachel's hips "Can I touch you?" she asks softly, not wanting to manhandle Rachel.

The brunette blinks at Quinn, a million dirty thoughts going through her head as different scenarios of Quinn saying the exact same words pop up in her mind. She nods a breathlessly says "Yes please" Her eyes widen slightly at Quinn's look of confusion and she quickly corrects herself "Yes if you can refrain from man handling me" she says with fake gruffness.

Quinn scoffs and rolls her eyes before gently placing her hands on Rachel's hips, not noticing that Rachel shivered as soon as her hands made contact. She gently turns Rachel's body so she standing side on to the water. "Hold the pebble in your hand like this" Quinn says, painfully aware how close she is to Rachel's neck.

She places the pebble in Rachel's hand and claps her fingers around the cool rock in the right position. "Like that" she whispers. This time, when Rachel shivers, Quinn definitely notices. She pauses; surprised she's having such an effect on Rachel before shaking her head and getting on with it.

"Then you gently pull your arm back" She guides Rachel's arm with her hand, stepping even closer to the smaller girl as she draws her arm further back "As you swing it forward, you flick your wrist and let go" She says, again guiding Rachel's arm in the proper motion.

"Get it?" She asks, not yet stepping away from Rachel.

Rachel shuffles back further into the warmth of Quinn's body and turns her head to look at Quinn. If Quinn just turns her head a little bit to the left, their lips would be pressing against one another. Rachel swallows thickly as her gaze darts down to Quinn's lips before moving her head back and saying "Could you do it with me?" She asks, not ready to move away from the embrace she and Quinn are standing in.

"Okay" Quinn's voice is horse, having also noticed how close their faces are and feeling a bit heated. "1..." she guides Rachel's arm back "2..." her grip on Rachel's hand tightens slightly "Three" she whispers before moving her and Rachel's arm forward and flicking hers and Rachel's wrists at the same time. Luckily, Rachel lets go of the pebble at the right moment and watches with glee as it skips along the water three times before dropping into the lake.

She squeals in excitement "I did it!" She says, jumping up and down and clapping. Whilst she jumped up and down, Quinn steps away from her body, putting a little distance between them, fanning herself down.

"I did it, I did it!" Rachel sings, dancing round in a circle "Oh yeah! Oh yeah!" she says, adding an few hand movements into her dancing.

Quinn watches her fondly, a adoring smile growing on her face as Rachel continues to dance with happiness. Quinn's happy that for once, she's made Rachel happy rather than sad. Rachel spots Quinn's gaze and immediately stops her dancing, blushing profusely and refusing to look Quinn in the eye.

"Sorry" Rachel clears her throat "I got a little excited there"

"Let's skip some stones" Quinn says, handing a stone to Rachel. At the bright, beaming smile Rachel gives Quinn, she knows she did the right thing and dismissed the Brunette's embarrassment.

For two hours the girls stand there and skip stones. Neither of them say anything, just happy standing there and bond silently. Both girl's continuously glance at each other, blushing and looking away every time they make eye contact.

It's only when the sun starts to set and the temperature drops does Rachel speak "We should head back"

Quinn shakes her head and takes Rachel's hand "Not yet, you have to see this" she says taking her over to a slightly higher rock sitting at the water's edge. As they make their way, Rachel can't stop looking down at their hands and how easily they fit together, unlike when Finn or Puck held her hands which just covered hers. It was like Quinn's hands were crafted to fit into Rachel's.

"Sit down" Quinn gently coaxes, sitting down onto the rock and peering up at the trees. Just peeking over the top of then is the sun as it descends down. Colours of purple, orange and red swirl in the sky, cascading down across the smooth water of the lake.

Birds fly out of the trees, the sun turning them into silhouettes as they fly further east before settling on a tree there. It's so peaceful and magical.

"When I was younger" Quinn begins to say, drawing Rachel's attention from the sky "I would sneak out and come and watch the sunset. It was so peaceful. I never believed something could be so peaceful until I saw it. It's..."

"Beautiful" Rachel finishes for her. Quinn casts her gaze over to Rachel and smiles, her eyes running over the girl's profile.

"Yeah, it is" She says, still looking at Rachel. Quinn notices Rachel shivering slightly, her arms wrapped round her body "Are you cold?"

"I forgot to bring a coat with me" she looks over at Quinn, spotting she's only wearing a polo shirt "How are you not cold?" she asks in shock.

Quinn laughs lightly "I'm abnormally warm during the winter" she pauses, watching Rachel shiver.

Taking a risk, Quinn shuffles closer to Rachel and places her arm over Rachel's shoulders gingerly. Rachel freezes in shock, not expecting Quinn to do that. After a few painful seconds, Rachel relaxes in Quinn's hold and shuffles closer to her, placing her head on her shoulder. She sighs as warmth covers her like a blanket an unknowingly snuggles into Quinn a bit more. Quinn bites her lip, not exactly sure on what to do next. Finally she decides on rubbing Rachel's arm to keep her warm.

This is odd to both of them. They shouldn't be so comfortable in a position like this. Rachel should feel uncomfortable whilst Quinn feels awkward. But they don't. It feels natural to them, like Quinn was meant to hold Rachel like this. They both mentally shake that thought away, automatically thinking it as a stupid idea.

'_It's because Finn isn't here'_ Rachel thinks _'She's the closest I'm going to get'_

As soon as the sun sets, Quinn drops her arm from Rachel's shoulders and stands up. She awkwardly clears her throat and refuses to look Rachel in the eye "We should head back"

Rachel only nods and begins to follow Quinn as she walks back down the path they came, passing the tree with Quinn's carving in it. Quinn looks back to see if Rachel is behind her, however, whilst looking at Rachel, Quinn didn't see the rock poking out from the ground and trips. She flies over to rock and lands on the ground with a big 'thump' her arms grazing across the mud. Rachel gasps and hurries her footsteps, quickly side stepping the rock Quinn tripped over.

Quinn groans and rolls onto her back. She quickly sits and looks at her stitched arm. "Oh man" she mutters, seeing the dirt and gravel stuck in her stitches. She looks at her left arm and sees it's caked in mud.

"Are you okay?" Rachel asks, coming to a stop beside Quinn.

"I guess" she says, pushing herself up to stand. She sighs and dusts the dirt off her trousers.

"Come on, let's clean those" Rachel says, gently clasping Quinn's elbow and taking her back to the cabin.

* * *

"Ow!" Quinn yells, ripping her grazed elbow away from Rachel. She glares at the brunette who only glares back, her hands on her hips. "That hurt!"

"What did you expect! You've got a cut elbow and this has antiseptic on it" Rachel shouts back, waving the cloth around "It's going to hurt!" she goes to grab Quinn's arm again but Quinn keeps it away from her. Rachel rolls her eyes "Stop being such a baby!"

"I'm not-" Quinn pouts "I'm not a baby"

Rachel rolls her eyes again and tugs Quinn's arm back to her, keeping a strong clasp on it as she dabs the antiseptic onto the cut, cleaning off gravel and mud. She chuckles at Quinn's grunts and moan of pain. Such a baby.

"There. Would you like a animal plaster to go over your boo boo too?" Rachel asks in a child's voice, mocking Quinn.

Quinn's eyes light up "Do you have one?" She asks looking into the first aid kit Rachel has sat on her lap.

Rachel narrows her eyes at Quinn "No. They're for little children" Quinn slumps in her seat, looking dejected at the fact she can't get an animal sticker. Rachel sighs and takes Quinn's stitched arm, using a damp cloth to clean off the mud and gravel. "When do you get these out?" She asks with gentle kindness.

Quinn looks down at her stitches then back up at Rachel "About a weeks time"

"You'll get a pretty cool scar from this"

"Yeah, I'll look even more bad-ass" Quinn says with a bright smile. Rachel rolls her eyes again, feeling that if she does it one more time, they'll become stuck to the back of her head permanently.

Quinn doesn't say anything more as she watches Rachel clean her stitches with provision and ease. Her touch is soft and gentle as she dabs at the stitches, making sure not to get them too wet.

"I never thanked you" Quinn says, thinking back to how she gained the stitches.

"For what?" Rachel asks, not taking her eyes off of the pale arm. She knows exactly what Quinn is talking about, but wishes to hear Quinn say it.

"For helping me when I fell of my skateboard. I didn't expect you to seeing how much you hate me. Thank you"

Rachel's movements pause momentarily "I don't hate you" she says softly. Quinn's heart soars and she bites back a grin "I don't like you but I don't hate you." Quinn's smile drops slightly "But just because I don't like someone doesn't mean I won't help them when they need it"

"Even Hitler?" Quinn asks with an amused smile. She watches as Rachel's lips tug upwards slightly, her gaze darting up to Quinn's sparkling eyes for a moment.

"He's an exception" Rachel rinses out the cloth, grimacing at the amount of dirt that washes off of it "My great-grand farther survived the holocaust. If he hadn't my Dad wouldn't be alive today and neither would I."

Quinn's eyebrows shoot up to her forehead "Really? Wow, I didn't know"

"There's a lot you don't know about me Quinn" Rachel says with a slight hint of anger. Even though it's only a small amount, Quinn still leans back in surprise at the change of tone in Rachel's voice. The brunette moves away, focusing her attention on cleaning up the first aid appliances.

"We used to be friends" Quinn says softly. Rachel glances at Quinn but continue to pack everything up "What happened?"

Rachel tugs the bag off of the counter and slips off the stool "Things changed. You changed. I changed" She doesn't give Quinn time to reply before she storms away to the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Quinn sighs and slips off the stool also. She stops by the bathroom door, contemplating on knocking. She raises her fist, preparing to knock before sighing and dropping it. She rests her head against the door and shake she her head side to side.

"Rachel" she licks her lips nervously "I'm sorry if I offended you at any point then. I didn't mean to if I did" She moves away from the door "I'll see you in the morning" she hesitates once again before walking into her room and gently closing the door.

At the sound of the door closing, the bathroom door opens. Rachel slowly steps out and leans against the door frame, her eyes looking at Quinn's closed door. She bites her lip in apprehension, wondering if she should speak to Quinn. But she thinks against it and walks off to her room, her door clicking shut.

* * *

Quinn groans, rubbing her head and she drags herself into the living room, the smell of pancakes and coffee guiding her into the adjoining kitchen. She smiles sleepily when she sees Rachel standing at the stove, flipping pancakes left right and centre. Rachel looks over her shoulder at the sound of the stool scraping against the floor and smiles awkwardly at Quinn.

"Hungry?" She asks softly, turning round with a plate of pancakes in her hand.

Quinn smiles at her and nods "Very" she licks her lips when Rachel sets the plate down in front of her "Thank you" she says, picking up her fork and digging in. As soon as the pancake hits her tongue, it almost melts against her tongue, the flavours bursting instantly. Her eyes widen in surprise before she begins to eat more. "Oh my god!"

"They're vegan" Rachel says, sitting down next to Quinn with her own plate.

"Are you serious? They're so good!" Quinn exclaims. She frowns when she eats the last bite, staring down at the empty plate forlornly. Her eyebrows knit together when a new pancake lands on her plate. She looks over at Rachel in confusion.

"You have it" Rachel says softly.

"No, it's yours. I don't want to be greedy and for you to go without" She goes to put the pancake back onto Rachel's plate but Rachel's hand stops her.

"I'm fine, honestly. I have more, see" she points down at her plate "Consider this my apology for how I behaved last night"

Quinn puts her fork down and swallows the last of the pancake before speaking "You don't need to apologise"

Rachel smiles and looks down at her lap shyly, lightly scratching at her hand "I-I do. I had no right to get angry-"

"Rachel" Quinn cuts Rachel off by placing her hand over Rachel's fidgeting ones "It's fine." She pushes her stool back and stands, taking hers and Rachel's empty plates.

"You don't need to wash up Quinn" Rachel says as Quinn begins to scrub a sponge onto a plate, rinsing it out before placing it on the drying rack.

"You cooked so I'm cleaning. Beside" She looks over at Rachel with a smile "We're going on an adventure today so you better get ready"

"Where are we going?"

Quinn shrugs "Anywhere but this boring old cabin"

* * *

Quinn sighs, rubbing a hand over her eyes when once again, Rachel needs to stop and sit down on a nearby rock. She scratches the back of her neck and looks out to the valley. They've been walking for an hour and Rachel's had to stop every 20 minutes. Quinn's beginning to doubt that Rachel even does dance lessons with the lack of stamina the girl seems to have.

"I shouldn't have had the pancakes" Rachel says, leaning back on her hands.

"What do you normally eat then?"

"Fruit. But for some reason, your farther didn't think to stock up on them." Rachel grumbles.

"He made sure to have vegan things for you though" Quinn replies, folding her arms over her chest. She leans back against the tree, watching as Rachel stretches her arm back. Quinn's eyes dart straight to Rachel's breasts that are being pushed forward. She follows the swell of Rachel's breast down to her stomach, a tiny slither of skin exposed by her jumper rising. She looks away before Rachel looks back at her and waits for the brunette to stand.

"Right, I'm ready" Rachel says jumping up and running on the spot, going through different lunges.

"We're walking Berry, not partaking in a race"

Rachel smirks "That's what you think" She says before running past Quinn. In the wrong direction.

"You're going the wrong way!" Quinn calls out, chuckling when Rachel stops and turns round, blushing slightly.

"I knew that!" She says, trying to defend her dignity.

Quinn just giggle and starts to jog, waiting for Rachel to catch up "Prepare to eat my dust Berry" she says, jogging along Rachel. Rachel scoffs, speeding up slightly.

"On the contrary Fabray, are you prepared to eat _my_ dust?"

Quinn only smirks and turns her jogging into a fast paced run, easily speeding past Rachel with a happy laugh. She laughs harder when she hears Rachel grumble under her breath and try to catch up to her.

After racing for about ten minutes, the girls turn up at their destination. Quinn jumps up in the air with excitement, pounding her fist upwards in victory.

"I am the winner!" She shouts and the top of her lungs.

"You cheated" Rachel huffs out as she leans on her knees, gaining back her breath.

"When?" Quinn asks, knowing very well she did no such thing.

Rachel pauses and glares up at Quinn "Well you-you-" She huffs in annoyance and walks past Quinn.

Quinn smirks at her and walks towards her, waiting for Rachel to-

"Where are we?"

There we go.

"Well, if you shut up for a second you'll be able to hear" Once again, Rachel glares at Quinn before going silent and listening. Her eyebrows knit together when she hears water falling and crashing. She looks over at Quinn who has the biggest smile on her face.

"Is that...?" She trails off, pointing to the edge of what she thought was a cliff.

Quinn nods excitedly "We, Miss Berry" she misses the way Rachel smiles at her, stepping close to the edge and peering down "Are standing on top of a waterfall"

Rachel slowly steps forward and peaks over the edge, gasping when she sees, just to the side of them, water pouring over the edge and crashing down to the small waterfall plunge pool at the bottom. She screams when Quinn jogs her, causing her to jump. Quinn begins to laugh, finding Rachel's facial expression hysterical.

"You should have seen your face" She says between giggles. Soon her giggles begin to turn into shrieks as Rachel starts to hit her on her arm and round the head.

"You stupid idiot! I could have died!" Rachel screams.

"Calm down!" Quinn says, grasping hold of Rachel's hands to stop her from hitting her. "You wouldn't have died because I would have caught you"

Rachel continues to glare at her and stomps her foot "Don't do it again" she whispers, the fight and anger leaving her body.

Quinn smiles at Rachel "I won't." Quinn steps away from Rachel and strips of her jumper and shirt.

Rachel diverts her eyes which are wide with shock "W-what are you doing?"

"Going for a swim" Quinn says, shaking off her jeans, shoes and socks. She doesn't feel the cold air hit her body as she takes a running start.

Rachel turns just in time to see Quinn dive perfectly into the water below. She looks on in worry when Quinn doesn't pop up after a while "Quinn?" She shouts out. Her heart begins to pound against her chest as time passes without Quinn popping up "Quinn!" She shouts again, starting to become hysterical.

Just as she's about to run back down, a blonde head pops up out of the water and smiles up at her. She feels her heart slow down at the sight of Quinn, swimming about happily.

"Are you crazy!" She shouts down at Quinn.

Quinn only laughs "Come on! Jump in!"

"Unlike you I value my life!"

"Oh please. Live a little" She just about makes out Quinn wiggling her eyebrows up at her.

Rachel looks down at the pool below and bites her lip. She looks behind her at the trail she and Quinn took. Die or Live. Which one should she do? She looks at the pile of Quinn's clothes left up at the top with her then down at the blonde swimming in the water. Safe or Dangerous.

Rachel makes a snap decision and rids herself of her clothes. She walks up to the edge and peer down. She swallows thickly, fear building up in her at the height of the jump. She shakes her head and closes her eyes.

"You are Rachel Barbra Berry. You are a star. You can do anything" she says to herself before taking the jump.

Quinn whoops as she sees Rachel descend into the water, laughing when the brunette pokes her head up and screams at the coldness.

"I'm surprised you did it" Quinn says as Rachel swims over to her.

"That was amazing!" Rachel says, brushing her hair back away from her face and smiling widely at Quinn.

"Told you" She says.

Rachel smiles "I like to think that you merely informed me and I told myself"

Quinn scoffs before splashing water in Rachel's face. Rachel squeals at her before doing it back, laughing when Quinn attempts to swim away.

* * *

Quinn sits on the settee, her guitar rested on her lap as she starts to gently strum out a few bars. She shuts her eyes, feeling the music surround her as her hand moves up and down the fret, creating a melody of notes.

The fire burns in front of her, keeping her warm and toasty. As soon as she and Rachel got out of the water, they both immediately regretted jumping in on such a cold day. The biting wind stung against their cold skin as they made their way back up to the mountain and put their clothes on again, both blushing every time they were caught ogling the other's body.

Quinn looks up when she hears the bathroom door open. Rachel walks out wearing golden star pyjama shorts showing of her toned and impossibly long legs that make Quinn's mouth water and a white t-shirt. Quinn's mouth goes dry when she sees two peaks sticking out against the t-shirt at chest level before diverting her gaze.

Rachel sits herself down next to Quinn, her gaze moving to Quinn's guitar "I hear you play that almost every day, and yet I can't figure what song it is"

Quinn smiles and looks up "You won't know it"

"I have you know Quinn that I have an extensive array of musical knowledge. I have over 4000 songs on my iPod" Rachel says with slight offence.

Quinn chuckles "You won't know it because I wrote it." She admits shyly.

Rachel mutters a soft 'oh' and blushes slightly "What's it about?"

Pale fingers run along the wooden body of the guitar, hazel eyes focusing on the edge of it instead of the curious brown one's waiting for an answer. With bashfulness, Quinn softly says "It's about this person...that I've liked for quite some time"

"Can you sing it for me?" Rachel asks with a soft tone, shuffling a little closer. She ignores the erratic beating of her heart that started when Quinn said the meaning of the song. She can't get her hopes up. Quinn has no reason to like her, Rachel's been nothing but mean to her for years.

Quinn scratches the back of her neck and nods. She clears her throat and begins to play the guitar, her hand sliding down the fret board as she strums, playing out the familiar tune. She looks up at Rachel as begins to sing, her gaze never wavering.

'_I'd be more of a morning person  
if I got to wake up next to you  
well, let me ask you something  
would you be one too?'_

Rachel swallows thickly at the look Quinn is directing at her. It's as if she's looking right into her, deep inside, past her walls, anger and self hate. It makes her nervous as her hands begin to scratch at each other. Quinn notices and quickly looks away, looking down at her guitar as she sings.

'_and I'd climb 1000 mountains  
just to meet you at the summit  
well let me ask you something  
would you climb too?_

_take my hand  
and I'll show you the way  
look me in the eyes  
and tell me that you feel the same'_

Quinn looks back up at Rachel, a small smile gracing her features when she sees a hint fo the old Rachel in the big doe eyes staring back at her in wonder.

'_and if you want to run away  
I won't hesitate  
because I'd have nothing  
if they take you away._

_and I'd let you meet my parents__  
__because I'm that they'd love you__  
__let me ask you something__  
__would yours like me too?'_

Tears spring to Rachel's eyes at the beauty that Quinn is singing. It's so heartfelt and honest that it makes her wish to be the girl Quinn is singing about. She'd die to be this girl, because she's never felt more in love with Quinn then she is now.

'_and I hate it when we're separate,__  
__I just don't know what to do__  
__well let me ask you something__  
__does it affect you too?'_

Quinn watches as Rachel tries to discreetly wipe her tears away. She furrows her eyebrows together slightly, wondering what has made Rachel so upset, completely clueless to the fact that the song she wrote about Rachel is making the brunette overwhelmed with emotion.

'_take my hand__  
__and I'll show you the way__  
__look me in the eyes__  
__and tell me that you feel the same__  
__and if you want to run away__  
__I won't hesitate__  
__because I'd have nothing__  
__if they take you away._

_If they take you away_

_If they take you..away'_

As soon as Quinn finishes, Rachel stands up from the settee quickly wiping at her tears.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asks, standing up also.

Rachel shakes her head and looks away from Quinn "Nothing, nothing. It's a beautiful song Quinn. I'm sure that if you sing this to the girl you wrote it for, she'll be in your arms straight away" With that, she spins round and walks back into her room, shutting the door behind her.

Quinn sighs and places her hands upon her guitar "I just did" she whispers.

* * *

**The end of the chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it and please please listen to the song here by Lewis Watson, it's very beautiful and he has a great voice.**

**Thanks very much!**

**xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next instalment! Thank you very much for the reviews on the last chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She hears the whimpers. They started off soft and gentle, causing her to mistake them for the whimpers of the wolves that sometimes visited the cabin. But they began to grow in volume and travel through the walls. That's when she realised: They're not wolf whimpers. They're human tears of pain. She's conflicted, does she go see to the painful tears or does she stay and wait for them to finish?

She can't do that though. She can't ignore them, that's not the type of person she is. But would they feel okay about it? Would it be awkward? Will they become hostile once again? The bridges they built will surely crumble once again. Go, or don't go?

Go...

Don't go...

The whispers of her conscience float around her mind, the devil and angel appear on her shoulders, trying to coax her into what they believe is the better direction. Does she hits one away? Does she hit them both away and go, but not to the room where the tears are coming from?

Taking a deep breath, she makes her decision and gets out of the bed, hissing slightly as her bare feet touch the cold wooden flooring. With soft footsteps, she makes her way over to the other room, careful to dodge the loosened floorboards as to not alert the other occupant of her journey.

She pauses outside of the door, hesitating slightly. She stares at the dark oak in front of her and shakes her head. She can do this, she isn't weak. She can do this. With some determination, she gently pushes the door open and walks in, closing it behind her, careful to make sure the door clicks soundlessly.

"Rachel?" She whispers, her voice cracking the invisible barrier.

The whimpers stop and the sound of low, shallow breathing fill the room. Quinn bites her lip, knowing that Rachel is faking the sleeping, but not knowing whether she should still venture further into the room or leave. Shaking her head, she turns and opens the door. However, upon hearing a sob break through the air she stops her movements. Without a second thought she shuts the door closed and walks over to the double.

She opens up the covers and quickly slips in, shuffling behind the shaking body. A hesitant arm reaches out and wraps itself around the smaller girl's waist. Instantly, Rachel turns round and moves herself into Quinn's arms, her head resting on the blonde's chest. Her tears soak into Quinn's shirt but she doesn't care. She just gently rubs at Rachel's arm and tells her it's going to be okay.

She doesn't even know what will be okay. All she knows is that she has a strong, overwhelming need to wrap her own form of protection round the crying girl like a blanket and keep her safe. Soon, Rachel's tears and hiccups calm down, gentle breathing replaces them, puffing against the warm skin of Quinn's neck.

Quinn lifts her arm up and begins to shuffle away, preparing herself to venture back into her room. But as she goes to roll away, Rachel's hold on her waist tightens and a small 'No' escapes her lips. Quinn sighs and rolls back, stuck in the bed with Rachel. This is when she notices how easy it was for her to get back into position. She doesn't feel awkward, she's not lying their rigid as a plank. Instead, she feels comfortable and almost as if...as if this is the most natural thing in the world. 'Cause you know, sleeping in bed with your supposedly enemy is what everyone does nowadays.

Quinn places her arm back around Rachel and shifts into a comfortable position. After watching the brunette for a few minutes she finally closes her eyes and falls asleep.

* * *

She smiles when she feels fingers gently coast along her skin, drawing small patterns amongst the warm flesh. She rolls her head to the side and shuffles closer to the touch, enjoying the comforting feeling. A soft moan escapes her lips when the fingers gently scratch at her skin. The moan causes the fingers to stop their movements. Not wanting them to stop, Quinn pretends to fall asleep, sighing to herself when the fingers begin to move again.

Quinn opens her left eye too look across at Rachel. She watches Rachel's expression, her eyes focused and concentrated on her fingers. Quinn smiles softly as she notices the way Rachel's nose crinkles slightly, her tongue poking out between pink full lips. Rachel's eyes flicker up to Quinn's face for a moment before she does a double take and scurries backwards. Quinn frowns at the loss of soft fingers on her skin.

Rachel stands at the edge of the bed, looking at Quinn with wide, giant eyes "Y-you were awake the whole time?" she asks, stuttering slightly.

"Good morning to you to" Quinn mumbles, sitting herself up.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Quinn shrugs "You seemed to be enjoying yourself" she says with a smirk.

Rachel scoffs and looks around the room, feeling extremely vulnerable after last night "You wish"

The blonde shakes her head and gets out from the covers. She walks round the bed to Rachel, noticing the way Rachel seems to shrink in on herself as she approaches her. She gently takes hold of Rachel's frantic hands, causing the brunette to look back at her in surprise.

"What was wrong last night?" Quinn asks, her voice as gentle as her touch.

Rachel looks down once again and shakes her head "Nothing"

Quinn sighs and lifts her hand, tucking back a loose strand of hair behind Rachel's ear "It wasn't nothing. I sang and you ran off to your room crying and proceeded to cry through the night"

Rachel tugs at her hands, trying to get them out of Quinn's grip. Quinn looks down, her thumbs running over the scars on Rachel's hands. She bites her lips, knowing that if she's going to ask about them, she has to approach it with caution-unlike last time.

"How did you get these?" She asks gently. This time, when Rachel tugs at her hands, she lets them go. Her eyebrows furrow together when Rachel steps away from her and looks to the wall, turning her back to Quinn.

"Get what?" Rachel's voice sounds so broken, like she might actually break if she says anything more.

"Those scars on your hands"

"You're delusional. There isn't any scars on my hands" Rachel growls out.

Quinn goes to bite out a retort at Rachel's obvious evasion on the subject but she thinks against it. She sighs and scratches at her neck "Okay, fine." She says before walking out of them room.

Once showered and dress, Quinn digs around in her wardrobe. She pushes boxes and old clothing out of the way, silently muttering under her breath as she looks for the object she knows she left here last year.

"Found you!" she says taking out an old, dirty soccer ball. She bounces it against the wooden flooring, smiling when it bounces up at a high height and lands nicely into her hands. Satisfied, Quinn walks out of the room and towards the front door. She stops when she sees Rachel sitting on the settee, her back to her.

"I'm going out for a bit" she says, only getting a barely there nod in return.

She sighs and opens the door, walking only a few feet away from the cabin to the two trees she uses as goal posts.

She places the ball onto the floor and easily kicks it up, continuing to kick it up into the air at a smooth pace, not even bothering to count the amount she's doing. Thoughts run through her mind a mile a minute, all linking to Rachel.

She doesn't understand why the song she sang made Rachel cry. Does she know it was for her and so cried at how pathetic Quinn was? Quinn smacks the ball against the tree in anger, quickly grabbing hold of it before it could fly away. She quickly begins her kick-ups with it again.

She doesn't understand why she walked into Rachel's bedroom this morning upon hearing her cries. She doesn't even like the girl-no that's a lie. She does like Rachel. She more than likes Rachel. The amount of times she's found herself sitting on her bed, listening to the brunette sing. Or the many times she caught herself watching the brunette from her room as she changes, her eyes mesmerized by the singer's strong back muscles and toned stomach. She can tell how much work Rachel does from her dance classes.

She always looks around for Rachel whenever she's in Lima Bean with Santana or Artie or whenever they're at the soccer matches. She was always looking for Rachel, just wanting to see her face, hear an insult leave her lips or see a smile on her face. Always. She cares for Rachel. How much? Well, she has no fucking clue really. All she knows is that the way she cares for Rachel isn't like a big sister, or even a best friend. It's something much more. So much more.

Quinn grabs onto the ball upon seeing the sun beginning to set. Jesus Christ, how long was she out here for? She trudges along the gravel and pushes the door open. She sees Rachel's plate in the sink, a plate with some chicken sat on the counter top near it. She must have cooked for Quinn. Smiling, Quinn drops the soccer ball and walks over to the plate. She takes off the plastic wrap and grabs a fork, taking the chicken with her to the counter and digging in, moaning at the taste of lemon and herbs on the chicken. She really needs to get some cooking tips from Rachel, despite being vegan, that girl can cook some good meat.

She pauses in her chewing when she hears clattering coming from the bathroom. That's when she notices the noise of the shower turned on. She waits to hear anything else before carrying on with her eating. More sounds of clatters travel through the cabin, followed by a thump hitting the floor. Now panicking, Quinn drops her chicken and runs to the bathroom. She tries the handle, only to find it's locked.

She knocks rapidly at the dark wood "Rachel? Are you okay?" she doesn't hear a response and begins to panic even more. She hits at the wood again, becoming increasingly frantic "Rachel!"

She takes a step back and looks around, trying to look for anything that can help her. "Fucking hell" she mutters when she doesn't find anything. She hears a sob emit from the bathroom, breaking her away from her annoyed state. "Rachel! I'm-I'm coming in, okay!" she huffs and takes a deep breath before shoving her shoulder against the door, feeling it jolt slightly. She does it again and hears the lock snap slightly "One more" she whispers before slamming herself against the wood, stumbling into the room when the door gives way to her.

She pauses and peers round the room. Her eyes settle on the shower, Rachel slumped at the bottom, still fully clothed and with...with...

Quinn reacts quickly and grabs the first aid kit from the cabinet before rushing over to Rachel. She shuts off the shower and bends down, not caring about her socks getting soaked. She grabs hold of Rachel's red hands and grabs the nearest towel, wiping off the seeping blood, trying to look for the source. Her hands frantically open the first aid kit, looking through the objects inside it, trying to find the right things. She looks towards Rachel, her panic increasing when she sees Rachel's eyes beginning to droop.

She finally grabs hold of the medical bandage and wraps it round Rachel's hand, pulling it tight to keep pressure on the cuts. She kicks the bag away and quickly sits down next to Rachel, who gains back her movement and slides her knees up to her chest. Quinn places her arm around Rachel's shoulder and pulls her into her, wrapping her free one around her front, cradling the girl in her arms.

She holds back her tears when Rachel starts to openly cry in her arms, resting her head on to Quinn's chest, grabbing at the blonde's shirt. Quinn just rocks her side to side, gently shushing her much like this morning. Tears fall from her eyes onto Rachel's head as she holds the broken girl in her arms.

* * *

She hands Rachel a glass of water, watching the brunette chug half its contents before she places it onto the table, pulling the blanket around her shoulders tighter against her body.

"Are you cold?" Quinn gently asks.

Rachel nods and Quinn moves to the fireplace, adding more wood to the burning fire. She sits down next to Rachel, staring at the fir opposite them, her hands clasped together in her lap. She spots movement in the corner of her eye and looks to see Rachel scratching at the bandages on her hands. Quinn softly places her own atop Rachel's, stopping their movements.

"You have to tell me, Rachel"

Rachel sniffs and looks at the coffee table, her gaze focused on the half glass of water. She swallows thickly and reaches forward, grabbing the cup again and finishing the water off.

"I need to know." Quinn continues "So I can help you"

Rachel scoffs "You'll make it worse" she whispers, her voice horse form her lack of talking. Hurt springs out at Quinn, hitting her right in the face. Who knew four words could hurt so much?

"I-I'm sorry" Rachel says, her voice still low "I didn't mean that"

Quinn looks down and nods "I guess-I guess I deserve it. I haven't exactly been the nicest person to you"

"No you don't Quinn" Rachel finally looks up at her. She licks her lips and looks back down, not being able to hold Quinn's intense gaze for very long.

Quinn notices Rachel's nerves and scooches closer to her. She places her hand on top of Rachel's and smiles when the brown eyed girl looks back up at her "Take your time"

"I-I have-" Rachel pauses and takes a deep breath, her hands starting to shake slightly. She closes her eyes and tries to calm herself by taking long, deep breaths. Just like her Therapist told her, take it slow. She looks up at Quinn through her eye lashes and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear.

Quinn just sits next to her, a soft, encouraging smile on her face. She remains patient, knowing that this must be hard for Rachel, telling her 'enemy' what's wrong with her. Well not wrong, there isn't anything wrong with Rachel. But does Rachel know this?

"I have-Body dysmorphic disorder" Rachel whispers. The fire crackles loudly, piercing through the silence of the cabin. Quinn blinks, only understanding the word 'disorder' she stares at Rachel blankly, trying to quell her emotions which have gone into over drive. What does that mean? Is Rachel dying? Will she die?

Rachel takes Quinn's silence as a negative and takes the blanket off of her shoulders and stands up "I'm going to bed"

Quinn snaps out of her thoughts at Rachel's words and takes hold of Rachel's bandage hand, careful to not nudge her cut. She tugs at the hand, getting Rachel to sit down and puts the blanket back round Rachel's shoulders. "What-what does that mean?" Quinn asks, swallowing a lump in her throat.

Rachel begins to play with the loose threads of the blanket. She can't help but think she's a loose thread, beginning to wither away from life. "A mental illness wherein the affected person is concerned with body image, manifested as excessive concern about and preoccupation with a perceived defect of their physical features." She says, having memorised the medical definition a week after she and her Parents were told by the doctor.

Quinn just blinks at her, Rachel's words having just passed straight over her head. Rachel sighs and shuts her eyes "It me-means that I have become so obsessed with my personal image, I've become filled with so much self hate and insecurities that it's basically controlling my mind."

Quinn nods slowly, processing the words through her head "Is...is-" she gestures her hands to Rachel's "That part of it?"

Rachel nods, beginning to fiddle with the bandage "There are many symptoms for it. The one's I have are Anxiety, low self esteem, inability to look in a mirror for a long length of time, hostile towards others and skin picking. I tend to skin pick at the areas I'm most self conscious about. My hands and nose. That's what those scars are from"

"Why do you do it?" Quinn asks softly.

Rachel scratches at her neck "My Therapist said I do it because it was the first oddity that someone pointed out to me and what 'triggered' my disorder. She thinks maybe I do it in hopes of ridding myself of them"

"Why do you think you do it?" Quinn asks, knowing that mustn't be what Rachel thinks, if the slowly darkening gaze on Rachel's face is anything to go by. Her eyes dart down to Rachel's hands, watching as her finger starts to scratch at the bandage. She quickly takes hold of her hands, stopping her from doing so.

"You know how I said I was hostile towards people?" Rachel asks, refusing to look at Quinn "Well, I'm only hostile towards you. And I'm only hostile towards you if I haven't...done this. It's-it's a way for me to rid myself of my self-hatred and anger towards you. If I do this, I'm less likely to be mean to you."

"Me? Why me?"

Rachel turns away from Quinn, knowing that what she says next she can't say looking directly at Quinn. She licks her lips and swallows. She chances a glance up at Quinn, looking away as soon as she sees watery hazel eyes watching her with befuddlement.

"You-you triggered it. And so, because you triggered it, I held so much resentment towards you. Why did you make me like this? Why was it you to decide that one me? Those were the thoughts running through my head. So I was mean to you, I took my anger out on you"

Quinn furrows her eyebrows together, staring at Rachel with her mouth open "What do you mean I triggered it?"

"Do you remember elementary school?"

"Yeah, we were friends one moment then the next day you refused to talk to me and stole my crayons"

Rachel chuckles humourlessly "It's a stupid reason. It-it makes me so mad that it was this that split our friendship." She balls her hands into fists "We were sat in class, playing with the play-doh when you asked for the green one. When I passed it to you, you took one look at my hands and said 'You have boy hands'"

Quinn gasps, her memory of it coming back to her. She doesn't know why she said it, she panicked when Rachel looked at her after giving her the play-doh. She looked into Rachel's eyes, seeing the shining sparkle in them and melted. It freaked her out and so she looked away and saw Rachel's hands. They were so small and girly. So she said the opposite in hope of quelling the feeling that was scaring her.

"Oh Rachel" Quinn says, wiping a few of Rachel's tears away "I'm so sorry. I-if I had known-"

"You wouldn't have. We didn't even know until I had my first panic attack. My Dad's freaked out and rushed me to hospital"

"Who knows?"

"My Dad's. Your Parents...Puck"

Quinn drops Rachel's hands and stands up, beginning to pace the floor "Why-why didn't they tell me? Why didn't you tell me?" She asks, re-living every little insult she threw Rachel's way and the way Rachel reacted. How did she not notice before? How-how was she so blind to the way she was affecting Rachel?

"I asked them not to"

Quinn pauses in her stride "Why?"

"I didn't want you to know. I-I thought you would treat me differently. Think of me as a-as a freak"

"Of course I would've treated you differently Rachel!" Quinn shouts, making Rachel flinch. She calms herself down and rubs a hand over her eyes "I would've-I would've helped you" she says with a gentleness Rachel has never heard before "I wouldn't have insulted you, making it worse for you. I would have been there for you, because I-" She stops herself from blurting out the three words that have been through her mind for so long. She sits down next to Rachel and places her head in her hands.

"I'm sorry Quinn. You just-you seemed to hate me. I didn't want you to hate me even more"

Quinn lifts her head out of her hands and stares at Rachel with a look of hurt "Do you really think that low of me?"

"No I-"

"Do you really believe I'm that cold hearted?" Quinn shakes her head and stands up from the settee "I'm going to bed"

"Quinn, please?" Rachel grabs hold of Quinn's hand.

"Rachel, let me go to bed before I say something I'll regret" Quinn gently takes her hand out of Rachel's and walks to her room, gently shutting the door behind her.

* * *

That night, when Quinn hears crying come from Rachel's room she doesn't hesitate in getting out of bed and walking in. As she slips into the covers, Rachel rolls over and moves into Quinn's arms, feeling protected in the blonde's hold.

Quinn just pulls Rachel into her and presses a comforting kiss to the top of her head before falling off to sleep.

* * *

**There it is! Did you guys like it? Leave a review telling me what you think!**

**Thanks very much**

_**xx**_


	8. Chapter 8

The batter sizzles as she pours it into the pan and swirls it around, making sure it's evenly spread. She twirls the spatula about in her hand as she softly hums out a tune in her head, her hips moving to the rhythm. She loosens the cooking pancake and flips it, quietly shouting in victory as she expertly lands the pancake into the pan.

Fingers scratch at her blonde head as she waits for the pancake to cook. Her eyes flicker to the vegan ingredients spread out all over the counter and shrugs. She's clean that up later. Right now she wants to make sure these are the best vegan pancakes Rachel's ever had. Quinn thinks back to last night, all the information Rachel told her and how...hurt she felt. The hurt Quinn felt that Rachel didn't want to know, that Rachel felt like she'd turn her back on her. Though, she doesn't blame her. Quinn hasn't really treated her all too well these past few years.

But, surely she could have not told Quinn's parents to not say anything. Quinn could've found out a week after the whole hands incident and been able to be there for Rachel. Try and makes her better, make her life easier rather than worse and harder like she has been.

So, Quinn decided that starting from today, she will do everything in her power to make sure Rachel knows how beautiful she is and have an easy, care free life. A life every seventeen year old girl should have.

She looks over her shoulder upon hearing footsteps making their way over and smiles, spotting a very sleepy and sheppish looking Rachel Berry. "Hey, you're up just in time for breakfast" Quinn says, flipping the last pancake onto the plate. She grabs a fork and places them in front of Rachel who's sat down at the island, staring down at her bandage hands.

"Thank you" Rachel says, not looking at Quinn.

"I hope they're good, it's the first time I've made vegan pancakes" this makes Rachel look up in surprise.

"You made them vegan"

"Tried." Quinn clarifies, taking off the tea towel that was thrown over her shoulder "I tried to make them vegan"

Rachel smiles at her "They look delicious" she says before cutting a piece of and popping it in her mouth.

Quinn leans against the island counter opposite Rachel, biting her lips as she watches Rachel's reaction. Rachel's eyes widen and she nods, before a grimace takes over her face. She covers her mouth with her hand and tries to genuinely smile at Quinn, but Quinn spots her distaste.

"They're they're really good" Rachel says, refraining from making a 'blegh' noise once she swallows. She goes to cut another piece but Quinn's hand stops her.

"They're awful aren't they?" Quinn asks, a pout on her lips.

"I wouldn't say awful..." Rachel trails off, not knowing how to describe them.

Quinn nods "That's why I have back up!" Quinn says. She pulls out a box of Special K, soya milk and a bowl "Nothing beats a good bowl of cereal" Quinn says, pouring in the cereal and milk for Rachel. She hands her a spoon and takes away the vegan pancakes, throwing them in the bin.

She sees the bandaging around Rachel's hands and grabs the first aid kit. She sits down on the stool next to Rachel and gently takes her free hand. Rachel notices Quinn starting to unwind her bandages and goes to pull them back.

"You don't have to do that" Rachel says once she swallows a mouthful of cereal.

Quinn stops Rachel from moving her hand and continues to unwind the bandage "You took care of me, now it's my turn" Quinn says, smiling up at Rachel.

Rachel watches as Quinn places the old bandages into a carrier bag and starts to clean off the dried old blood with a wipe. Her heart flutters at the gentle touch of Quinn's fingers as the blonde tends to her wounds. She's treating Rachel as if she'll break from too much pressure and it makes Rachel fill with happiness. No one has ever treated her so kindly. Quinn is the last person she ever thought to do so, especially after last night.

Quinn wipes away the final trace of blood, seeing the cuts a lot clearer. They're no longer bleeding, but they look red and raw. They must be so painful. Without thinking, Quinn brings Rachel's hand up to her lips and gently kisses the skin before proceeding to wrap a new bandage around it. She knows Rachel is watching her, but she doesn't acknowledge it and begins to do the same to Rachel's other hand.

"Why did you do that?" Rachel softly asks when Quinn begins cleaning the blood off her right hand.

"Do what?" Quinn asks back, also taking Rachel's right hand up to her lips and placing a kiss on the newly cleaned skin.

"That. The kiss onto my hand" Rachel says, ignoring the tingles running through her hands at the feeling of Quinn's fingers on her hand.

Quinn shrugs "It's what you do when your friend is hurt" she smiles at Rachel "Do you remember that time in Elementary school-before shit hit the fan-" Rachel laughs slightly awkwardly "When you fell of the swing and scraped your knee?"

Rachel smiles and bites her lip. She remembers that very clearly. "You ran over to me and kissed my knee, asking if I felt better"

"And did you?" Quinn asks, beginning to wrap a new bandage around Rachel's hand.

"I did."

"Good, it worked then" Quinn beams at Rachel and drops the girl's hand, having finished wrapping it up securely. "Now, go get showered and meet me back here"

"Why?"

Quinn gets up from the seat and smiles at Rachel "I'm going to bringing the rebel out in you"

* * *

Quinn waits by the door, her skateboard hanging by her side. She quietly hums 'I'll make a man out of you' under her breath. Her fingers fiddle with her jacket zipper lazily, her eyes trained on Rachel's bedroom door.

The door opens, revealing Rachel in a blue sweater with a penguin on it-adorable- and a pair of jeans that look like a second layer of skin they're that tight-sexy. Quinn smiles at Rachel, watching the girl throw on her pea coat and fluffy scarf. Rachel notices her staring and pauses, beginning to scratch at her bandage covered hands.

"What?"

Quinn drops her skateboard and walks up to the brunette. She takes the girl's hands in her own, stopping her scratching. She smiles warmly at her "You look beautiful"

Rachel blushes and looks down at her boots "It's only my normal clothes"

"Doesn't mean you're any less beautiful" Quinn smiles and leans forward.

Rachel's stomach flips, he breathing hitching slightly as Quinn's face gets closer and closer to her own. Her eyes flutter closed when she feels the plump, pink lips pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. She notices the way they rest there longer than any normal kiss on the cheek before Quinn leans back and takes a step away from Rachel.

Quinn smiles and picks up her skateboard. She opens the front door, allowing Rachel to walk in front of her before following her out. She closes the door behind her and walks to stand in front of Rachel.

Rachel peers round herself and throws her arms out at the side "So what are we going to do?"

"You, by the end of today will hopefully be able to do this" Quinn says before dropping her skateboard on the ground and skating off, throwing in an Ollie at the end before skidding to a halt. She jumps off the board and snaps it back with her foot, catching it in her hand before it hits her knee. She chuckles at Rachel's perplexed expression.

"I-I won't be able to do that" Rachel stutters out as Quinn makes her way back over to her.

"Yes you will, just a little practice right? You weren't able to dance as soon as you were born where you? No, it took you three years of practice, and what happened? You won your first dance competition"

"How did you know that?" Rachel asks.

Quinn smiles at her once more and places the skateboard down at Rachel's feet, the front pointed to Rachel's left side "You talk, I listen" Quinn replies in a tone that suggests it's the most obvious thing in the world "Now, give me your hands" Rachel hesitantly lifts her hands up and places them in Quinn's "Step onto the skateboard"

Rachel does as Quinn tells her and looks up at Quinn, gazing at her in wonder. She smiles when she sees joy sparkling in Quinn's hazel irises. Her gaze, however, is torn away from the blonde beauty when Quinn starts to gently pull her and the skateboard begins to move. Rachel squeaks, not expecting the movement and falls forward into Quinn's arms. Quinn only laughs and helps the brunette stand back up on the board again.

"Okay, let's try this again. You need to keep your balance when it begins to move" Quinn gently speaks. Rachel nods, prepared this time when the board moves. "Good...good" Quinn says, pulling Rachel along. "Okay I'm going to let go of you now and give you a little push, do you think you could balance on your own?"

Rachel gives Quinn and unimpressed look "I'm a dancer Quinn. If I didn't have balance I wouldn't win all the competitions" Quinn only laughs and lets go of Rachel's hands. Rachel wobbles slightly, but remains steady. Quinn gives her back a gentle push, making the skateboard move a bit further. Rachel squeals in excitement and looks up, smiling widely at Quinn.

Quinn laughs, love fluttering in her chest at Rachel's smile and jogs over to the brunette, bringing her to a stop "Okay, so you've got the balancing down, now it's time to try pushing the skateboard with your feet. You ready?"

Rachel nods, her face determined "I'm ready"

* * *

Rachel growls as she lies on the ground for fifth hundredth time (it's only been three) she attempts to stomp her foot, only to end up hitting her heel on the concrete. Quinn appears at her side and bends down.

"I told you to only do one push" Quinn tuts "But you have to get ahead of yourself and do three"

"I got impatient okay!" Rachel whines "I want to learn this quickly!"

"Skateboarding takes some time to learn, Rach"

Quinn watches as Rachel bites back a smile before saying "But it didn't take me long to dance or sing! Why is this taking so long?!"

Quinn looks down at her watch and chuckles "We've been out here for two hours, Rachel" she wraps her arm around Rachel's shoulders and helps her up, dusting some gravel off of her body.

"Exactly! I should be able to do it now!" This time, Rachel succeeds in stamping her foot angrily. Quinn rolls her eyes at her and pushes the skateboard towards Rachel, who stops it with her foot. It took her about thirty minutes to understand that when Quinn pushed the skateboard to her, she needed to stop it.

"Look, just try, please" Quinn pleads, giving Rachel her best puppy dog eyes.

Rachel tries to scowl at her, but ends up failing as a mega watt smile takes over her face "Well, when you look at me like that" She says, placing her left foot into the right position on the skateboard. She takes a deep breath and pushes off. Her right foot just wobbles in the air as she tries to balance on only one.

Quinn refrains from face palming "Rachel, you need to put your right foot down!" She says.

"Oh" Rachel says, quickly placing her foot onto the board. She moves forward a few ore feet before she tumbles off it, falling onto the ground once again.

"Again!" Quinn says, helping Rachel back up once more before running off to chase the skateboard.

"I was doing well until I put my right foot down" Rachel grumbles, angrily tugging at her coat "You just had to go an ruin it didn't you?"

Quinn pauses and stares at Rachel with wide eyes "Me? How did I ruin it? If it wasn't for me you wouldn't even be able to balance on a skateboard"

"I think you'll find I could do it much better without you!" Rachel grumbles.

Quinn nods and purses her lips, holding back a nasty retort "Fine" she throws the skateboard on the ground near Rachel's feet "You figure it out seeing as you don't need my help" she growls before stalking off towards a rock sitting by the house.

She sits down on the rock and watches Rachel with a mixture of anger and love. Rachel glares at her momentarily before huffing and setting the skateboard in line with the route she wants to skate across. Quinn places her chin in her hand and forces herself to hide her amusement as Rachel tries to skate by herself. Every time the brunette trips off it, scrambling on her feet to keep herself up, Quinn has to bite her lip. Her teeth almost break through the skin when Rachel turns round to glare at the skateboard, as if it's human.

She has to keep herself from smiling at Rachel's adorable-ness whenever she huffs and places her hands on her hips. Her foot tapping against the ground as she stares that the skateboard with a 'I'm disappointed in you' look. It's so amusing and charming.

After a few more huffs and puffs and growls and kicks, Rachel finally walks over to Quinn, the Skateboard behind her back and she stares down at Quinn through her eye slashes. Quinn just looks at her wish her eyebrow raised and her lips pursed.

"Quinn?" Rachel says in a tiny voice, her hand coming up to scratch at her nose. Quinn immediately takes hold of that hand and holds it down by Rachel's side.

"Yes Rachel?"

"I need your help"

"Are you admitting that you can't do this on your own? That you need my help?"

"No, I just simply haven't yet mastered the art of Skateboarding and so need a teacher of sorts to talk me through the steps of becoming a skateboarder"

Quinn finally smiles "So what you're saying is that you need my help but in a very Rachel Berry-esqe way?"

"Are you really going to make me say it?" Rachel whines, throwing her head back to look at the cloudy sky.

"I dunno, are you going to say it?" Quinn challenges.

"Quinn, you were right. I need your help. Can you please help me?" Rachel asks, pouting out her bottom lip.

Quinn smiles up at her and nods. "Let's go"

* * *

Quinn stands to the side, her hip cocked up to her left as her hands rest on it. She watches Rachel get into position. They got as far as Rachel holding Quinn's hand as she pushes the skateboard with her foot, but she has yet to do it on her own. About three hours later and a lunch break. It's taken so long, but Quinn doesn't mind. She's had an excuse to hold Rachel's hand all day so she's okay with it.

But now, she's standing in position, silently hoping Rachel makes it over to her in one push. She looks over to her left and sees that the sun is beginning to set. They've had a few breaks in between the training, but Rachel has yet to learn to Ollie. Quinn honestly didn't think it would take Rachel this long to just learn how to move the skateboard. Today is their last full day anyway. Tomorrow Russell and Leroy pick them up and on Friday Rachel makes her decision on whether she wants to stay at McKinley or go back to Carmel. Quinn really hopes it's the first. After everything that's happened between them, she doesn't want to go back to having to face Rachel off in the Soccer tournament and in Glee.

"Ready Quinn?" Rachel calls out to the blonde. Quinn smiles and drops her hands, getting herself ready to catch Rachel in case she falls. Rachel nods once and places her foot onto the board and pushes off with the other. She keeps her arms out at the side as well as her right foot.

"Foot down Rach!" Quinn calls out as Rachel moves very slowly along the gravel.

Rachel nods quickly and places her foot down, moving them into the correct position. She begins to slow down and so pouts at Quinn who's still quite a bit away from her.

Quinn rolls her eyes "Push again!"

"But I don't know how to do that!" Rachel shouts back.

"Just like before! Just one more push" Quinn stops talking and bites her lip, realising what she just said makes it sound like Rachel's pregnant.

"Okay!" Rachel says hesitantly, lifting her foot from the board. She turns her feet and places her right one on the ground, pushing against the ground with it. She shrieks when the board moves faster and quickly places her foot back onto the wood.

"That's it!" Quinn shouts as Rachel rolls faster.

As soon as Rachel rolls over to Quinn, standing in the correct position, Quinn wraps her arms around Rachel's waist and picks her up from the skateboard, spinning her around in a hug. Rachel's giggle fills her ear as she does so. She laughs joyously, relieved that Rachel finally did it.

Quinn puts Rachel down, her arms still wrapped round her waist, Rachel's arms around her shoulders. They both smile at each other, their eyes sparkling with happiness. Their breathing slowly evens out, along with their smiles. Eyes flicker to lips, tongues wet dry skin, and breaths become slow as their heads move closer together. Eyes flutter closed, nose's brushes nose's and then-

Rachel bursts out laughing when the sound of a grumbling stomach breaks through the invisible barrier that seemed to grow between them. Quinn groans in embarrassment and moves back from Rachel, hiding her face behind her hands and shaking her head.

"Someone's hungry" Rachel says through hr poorly hidden laughter.

"Oh god" Quinn mumbles from behind her hands.

"Let's go cook dinner shall we?" Rachel asks, taking hold of one of Quinn's hands and walking them into the cabin.

* * *

After dinner and a shower, Quinn walks out of her bedroom feeling refreshed. She didn't realize how could her body had gotten until the warm shower water hit her body. It was so relaxing.

She pauses in the living room, spotting Rachel laid back on the settee, her iPod in her lap and a book in her hands. Quinn smiles when she sees it's the autobiography of Barbra Streisand. No doubt Rachel has already read it a gazillion times.

Quinn sneakily moves round the settee and crouches by an unsuspecting Rachel. She gently removes one of her head phones and quietly whispers "What you listening to?"

Rachel jumps up high, screaming slightly. Her book falls to the floor as in her moment of fright, she had let go of it. Dam, she could've used that as a weapon. She turns and glares at Quinn "Quinn! I was reading that! Now I've lost my page"

Quinn giggles "Oh please, you've probably got every single page memorised" She says, sitting herself own next to Rachel, stretching her legs out onto the coffee table

Rachel's mouth opens and closes momentarily "That's not the point" she says, grabbing her book and placing it on the coffee table whilst swatting Quinn's legs away "And to answer your question, I was listening to My Man"

"Why am I not surprised? I bet all you've got on there is Broadway musicals"

"I have you know Quinn that I have a very varied taste in music and contrary to popular belief I do not only like Musicals."

"Yeah, okay" Quinn scoffs, not sounding very convinced "Prove it"

Rachel narrows her eyes at Quinn and takes her head phones out of her iPod "Gladly. And I'll even grace you with my voice"

Quinn rolls her eyes and sits back, waiting for Rachel to pick out a song. Her eyes widen when a familiar and very non musical tune plays out from Rachel's iPod. Rachel narrows her eyes at Quinn, her hands on her hips and her foot tapping the ground as she sings.

_'You're better then the best  
I'm lucky just to linger in your light  
Cooler than the flip side  
Of my pillow, that's right"_

Rachel nods at Quinn, her scowl starting to form into a smile. She begins to move from her spot so she's behind the settee. She places her hands over Quinn's eyes, singing into her ear.

_"Completely unaware  
Nothing can compare to where  
You send me, lets me know that it's okay  
Yeah, it's okay  
And the moments where my good times start to fade"_

She moves her hands from Quinn's eyes and moves once more to stand in front of Quinn, doing silly actions to match the lyrics of the chorus. Quinn laughs the whole time, finding Rachel's actions adorable.

_"You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed  
Sing like bird, dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night_

_You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild  
Oh, you make me smile"_

Rachel pulls Quinn up from the settee and convinces her to sing the next verse, getting her to dance with Rachel.

_"Even when you're gone,  
Somehow you come along just like  
A flower pokin' through the sidewalk crack  
And just like that  
You steal away the rain, and just like that"_

Rachel joins Quinn in the singing and gets them to waltz round the room. Quinn giggles at how contrapuntal this dance is compared to the song.

_"You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed_  
_Sing like bird, dizzy in my head_  
_Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night_

_You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
_Shine like gold, buzz like a bee_  
_Just the thought of you can drive me wild_  
_Oh, you make me smile"_

When she spins Rachel out of her arms, Rachel doesn't spin back. Instead she turns round and slowly starts to strut towards Quinn, singing the next part. Quinn gasps though, because all the silly-ness has gone from Rachel's voice, replaced by a serious tone. Even the look she is giving Quinn is completely serious, as if she's trying to convey something across to Quinn...something familiar.

_"Don't know how I lived without you  
'Cause every time that I get around you  
I see the best of me inside your eyes  
You make me smile"_

When they are toe to toe again, Rachel wraps Quinn's arms around her waist and her own around Quinn's shoulders. She gently sways them side to side, whispering the lyrics to Quinn. It's intimate. Too intimate for a song like this. Maybe not the message, but the tone and speed of the song-yeah it definitely is.

_"You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe  
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee  
Just the thought of you can drive me wild_

The girls stop and stare at each other for a moment. Their faces are close. Very close. Closer than...friends?-is that what they are now?-Should be.

Quinn moves back and spins Rachel around under her arm, laughing when Rachel begins to sing and become silly once again.

_"You make me smile like the sun, fall out of bed  
Sing like bird, dizzy in my head  
Spin like a record, crazy on a Sunday night_

_You make me dance like a fool, forget how to breathe_  
_Shine like gold, buzz like a bee_  
_Just the thought of you can drive me wild_  
_Oh, you make me smile_  
_(Oh, you make me smile)_  
_Oh, you make me smile_  
_(Oh, you make me smile)_  
_Oh, you make me smile"_

The song ends and Quinn decides to go for the chance that has been given to her and begins to move her head closer to Rachel. Her hands grips Rachel's waist, her eyes fixed on the brunette, allowing her to back out if she wishes to. All Quinn knows is that she wants this. She wants this so much.

However, Rachel does not seem to agree and steps back, looking down at the floor. She clears her throat "We should get ready for bed" She says before walking off.

* * *

Quinn lies on Rachel's bed, waiting for the brunette to finally finish up in the bathroom and come lie down. She thinks about today and their near kisses. Maybe Rachel doesn't like here in that way and all the messages she's been reading off Rachel are wrong. Maybe Rachel was just embarrassed at the fact she got complimented, not that it was Quinn.

God, how big headed Quinn must sound right now. Of course it's not because it was Quinn that complimented her, it was the fact it was a compliment. Quinn should just forget about it. Forget about everything she thought was a hint of attraction from Rachel to her. It obviously wasn't.

At that moment, Rachel comes out of the bathroom and begins to pace in front of the bed. Quinn immediately sits up, worried about Rachel's frantic state.

"Okay so I've been thinking this over and I thought, what the hell? Or well, I freaked over the thought. I'm just so nervous I don't know how to react around you Quinn I don't know if everything I say will freak you out and so if I did what I've been wanting to do that would surely freak you out even more and so I've tried avoiding doing it but I can't anymore I want to do it too much now"

Quinn stares at Rachel with a perplexed expression, trying to work out whether Rachel took a single breath during that monologue or not. She doesn't notice Rachel take a deep breath and mutter 'here goes' or that the brunette has crawled onto the bed and cupped her face in her bandaged hands.

However, what Quinn does notice is the softest lips touching hers in a frightened manner, as if they're too scared to press any harder. She likes these lips. They're smooth and not chapped. They're perfect. That's why when the lips start to move away, Quinn chases them and re-attaches herself to them. Her eyes lips shut as her hand tangles in long brown tresses, tugging at the back of Rachel's neck to pull her closer.

Full lips slip between hers perfectly, as if they're the missing piece to her jigsaw puzzle. It's prefect. It's wonderful. And not to sound to cliché, but Quinn swears there's fireworks going off in her head. They're not doing more than pressing their lips together, but this is the single, most intimate and spectacular kiss Quinn's ever experienced. It's mind blowing.

She finally pulls back and looks straight down at Rachel's lips, her thumb ghosting across the plump lips. They share breaths, neither one of them wanting to move away from each other.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that" Quinn whispers, her breath hitting against Rachel's lips.

"I think I do" Rachel says back before pressing their lips together once more. This time, the kiss deepens slightly. They push a little harder, their tongues traces along the seam of their lips, wanting access to the others mouth.

Quinn pushes Rachel back into the mattress, laying her body weight on top of her, but not too much that she'll squash her. She allows Rachel's tongue access to her mouth, both of them moaning when their tongues slide against each other for the first time. Quinn's hands press into Rachel's hips, itching to explore some skin, but knowing Rachel might not be comfortable with that.

All of a sudden Rachel pulls away and pushes Quinn back "Stop" she whispers a little breathlessly.

"What is it? Did I hurt you? Are your hands hurting?" Quinn asks immediately.

Rachel only shakes her head and mutter one name that shutters the glass pane Quinn put up between this cabin and life.

"Finn"

Oh yeah. Finn.

Rachel's Boyfriend.

Fuck.


	9. Chapter 9

**Okay guys, I've finally got this chapter done! YAY!**

**Thank you for my Beta who helped me with this and thank you to the reviews you guys sent me. I always appreciate the time you took to write them. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

She stares at the suitcase laid out on her bed, her clothes stacked in a neat pile beside it, ready to be packed. She doesn't want to go, not yet. She's had too much fun to leave. She and Rachel finally connected. They finally...kissed. Here, in this cabin. It's as if there was a glass pane in front of her and just the mere mention of Finn shattered it into tiny pieces. Quinn didn't go back to her own room after that, she stayed. She wrapped her arms around Rachel once again and fell asleep. She couldn't not do so, it feels so...right.

Quinn sighs and begins to pack her things, arranging them carefully so they fit in her suitcase properly. She goes into the bathroom to grab her toothbrush and toothpaste and when she comes back, Rachel's sat on the edge of her bed. Quinn notices that all her clothes are now packed properly and that Rachel is fiddling with her hands nervously.

"Hey" Quinn says, walking over to her. She reaches past her to place her tooth brush into the suitcase. She shuts her eyes when the strawberry scent of Rachel's shampoo fills her nose.  
"We need to talk...about last night"

Quinn sighs, opens her eyes and sits down next to Rachel on the bed, taking her hands in her own to stop her from scratching them. Quinn looks down at her feet and swallows "What about it"  
"No one can know okay?"

"Ok"

"I mean it, Quinn. Absolutely no one. Not even Artie. I need that to stay here, in this cabin."  
Quinn furrows her eyebrows together, not liking that Rachel wants their kiss to be a secret "Will we still get to be friends?"

Rachel smiles "I'd love to stay friends."

"Great." Quinn smiles, trying to make it as real as possible, but she knows it isn't convincing. She doesn't want to just be Rachel's friend. But Rachel has Finn. She's with Finn. Quinn needs to respect that. "Are you going to be going back to Carmel?" Quinn asks, her voice becoming small.  
"I don't know."

Quinn nods and goes to speak, only to be cut off by a car horn beeping. She grabs her suitcase and lifts it up from the bed "Time to go back to reality."

* * *

Quinn sits on the edge of her bed, her guitar held loosely in her hands as she stares out the window at Rachel. She smiles as the girl dances about her room, putting clothing away. Leroy walks into the room and says something to Rachel before leaving, Quinn sees Rachel walks over to a mirror and stare hard into it. She notices the way her bottom lip quivers slightly before she turns away sharply and starts to put her clothes away once again.

Quinn tilts her head to the side and looks down at her guitar again. Grabbing her notebook and pen, she begins to write down a few lines of lyrics that have rushed into her head. Happy with the first lines, she begins to think of tune to go with it.

She tries strumming, but it's not soft enough. The way the chords ring out are a little too harsh to her ears. So she changes to plucking the strings, testing the waters. A big smile graces her face when the right tune sings out. It fits perfectly. She writes down more lyrics, scribbling and crossing out lines that don't fit in. She pauses when she gets to a certain line. She thinks back to the cabin, how Rachel sang when getting ready for bed. Most of the time she hummed the songs, but it still counts. Quinn used to watch Rachel sing in her room just before the brunette went to sleep. The blonde would just lie down, with her window open and listen to the soft voice of Rachel float in. She always sang before bed sometimes even singing three.

Quinn looks back over to the window, only for her smile to drop when she recognises the new presence in Rachel's room. Finn Hudson. He smiles at Rachel and wraps his big arms around her, practically encasing her. It'll probably take scientists millions of years to dig Rachel out of there. Quinn chuckles at her own joke and shakes her head. She shouldn't be feeling this jealous. He is Rachel's boyfriend after all. He's allowed to kiss her. Rachel isn't cheating if she kisses him. Quinn looks back up at them, a lump forming in her throat when she watches Finn spin Rachel around, Rachel laughing happily.

It reminds her so much of when she taught Rachel how to skateboard and spinning her around in a hug; granted it was only yesterday she did so, but, that doesn't mean it hurts any less.  
If anything, it hurts more. It hurts because of the fact Finn is doing something Quinn did less than 24 hours ago and he's allowed to do it.

It hurts so fucking much.

Quinn throws her guitar down onto her bed in anger and storms towards her door. She pauses upon seeing Judy standing on the other side, a plate of cookies and a glass of milk in her hands.  
"Are you okay Quinnie?" Judy asks tentatively.

Quinn nods "I'm going out for a bit" she says, brushing past Judy whilst grabbing her skateboard and making her way down the stairs.

Judy watches her daughter leave with a frown and walks into the room, placing the cookies and milk onto Quinn's desk. She notices Quinn's notebook lying down on her bed haphazardly. Intrigued, Judy walks over to the bed and picks the notebook up. She recognises it as Quinn's lyric book, a book that Quinn doesn't let anyone read. It feels wrong invading her privacy like this, but Judy does so anyway.

Her eyes scan over the lyrics, her heart swelling with pride for her daughter. She looks up and spots Rachel standing in her room, chatting away. Judy's eyes settle on Finn sitting on Rachel's bed, nodding along with her with obvious boredom. It's then that Judy realises what annoyed Quinn so much. From reading those lyrics, then seeing the scene across from her, Judy knows how much Quinn loves Rachel. The question is, though, will Quinn ever get big enough balls to say it?  
Well, that's one thing Judy Fabray must make sure happens.

Quinn bites her lip as she stands at the top of the quarter pipe. She mentally plans out her moves, thinking of ways it could go wrong. Seeing there isn't anything that could mess it up for her, she goes for it.

The wind blows through her hair, whipping against her skin as she travels down the slope. She bends her knees, readying herself for the rail coming up. Pushing as much power as she can into the board, she ollies off the ground, landing perfectly on the rails. She smiles when the familiar sound of metal against metal screeches through the air. She kick flips off the end and power slides to a stop.

"Look who's back from their vacation"

Quinn instantly smiles at the familiar voice. She spins round and laughs gleefully upon seeing Artie roll himself towards her.

"I wouldn't call it a vacation" Quinn says, quickly hugging Artie before dropping her skateboard onto the floor, her bum quickly following.

"That bad was it?" Artie smirks "What did the ice queen do this time?"

Quinn bites her lip to keep herself from shouting at Artie and looks at the ground "It was...amazing." She looks back up, smiling at Artie's shocked expression "The first few hours were horrible. But, after that, we just kind of...bonded. Rachel is wonderful. She made me dinner every night with meat despite being a vegan"

"Hold up," Artie says, placing his hand on Quinn's shoulder "What happened to you hating her?"  
"You and I know that I never hated Rachel." She flicks a few stones away from herself "Not even close" she mumbles.

Artie leans back in his chair and surveys Quinn. He's known for ages Quinn's true feelings for Rachel, but it seems like Quinn's only just starting to realise them. The time away has changed Quinn. She seems happier and free. There's something...something that changed her during that trip. "What happened whilst you were there?"

"You promise not to tell anyone?"

"I promise"

Quinn looks up at Artie and raises her eyebrow "Secret handshake promise?" Artie nods and so they proceed with their secret handshake. Hands twist together, fists' bump and high fives are exchanged until an all important pinkie link twist. "Rachel kissed me"

"What?" Artie asks, not quite believing his ears. Her places his pinkie in his ear and whirls it about, checking to see if any ear wax is stuck.

"Rachel kissed me" Quinn repeats slowly, as if she's talking to a baby.

"Was-did you enjoy it?"

Quinn smiles to herself, remembering the way Rachel's lips felt against hers, how they seemed to fit together perfectly. Artie chuckles at Quinn's wide smile and leans his arm against his wheelchairs' arm rest.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"It was great. But, she stopped me."

"What do you mean?"

Quinn begins to pick at her skateboard, tugging off little pieces of wood and flicking them onto the ground. "She remembered Finn"

Artie draws in a short breath and clicks his tongue "Oh." He scratches his head, "What did you do?"  
"I just nodded at her and moved away. I didn't know what to say, y'know. She has a boyfriend Artie, yet she was kissing me. She said she's been wanting to do that for a long time"

"Speak of the devil"

Quinn's head whips up as she immediately spots the familiar figure of Rachel walking towards her and Artie. Artie rolls himself away, making up a quick excuse for his Dad needing to be somewhere. He greets Rachel pleasantly as he rolls past her, receiving a happy smile in return-which truly shocked him. Normally he gets a scowl.

Quinn doesn't look at Rachel, but instead finds her shoes extremely interesting. She sees Rachel's feet stop in front of her, but still refuses to look up and so continues to stare at Rachel's adorably small feet.

"Hi Quinn."

"Hey," Quinn replies, her eyes now focusing on a rock beside Rachel's feet. She kicks it with her shoe, sending it rolling away from them.

"Got room for one more on there?" Rachel teases. Quinn hears Rachel sigh and smiles to herself when she sees Rachel's foot lightly stomp the ground. "Quinn, look at me."

Quinn still refuses to look at her, this time closing her eyes.

"How are we going to be friends if you refuse to look at me?"

Finally giving in, Quinn slowly lifts her head. She gasps softly at the sight in front of her. Rachel's standing in line with the afternoon sun and so the rays are flowing out from behind the brunette, making her look like and angel. Which, in Quinn's eyes, she is.

"There's my favourite eyes" Rachel softly coos, causing Quinn to blush and duck her head.  
"Why are you here Rachel?" Quinn asks, finally standing up. She picks up her board and sticks it under her arm, looking down at Rachel with a questioning look.

Rachel bites her lip and looks down at her hands. Quinn also looks down and sees the bandages she put on them have come off, are now replaced by plasters on the right scars.

"Does Finn know?"

Rachel shakes her head, tucking her hands into her coat pockets "He can't ever know."

"You need to tell him. He is your boyfriend, Rach."

"I can't. He'll freak out. He'll tell me I'm overreacting about it all. He won't treat me like you did." Rachel turns away from Quinn.

"Why not?"

"Because that's just who he is. He won't support me like you did, he won't understand. He won't help me."

Quinn slips her hand into Rachel's coat pocket, grabbing hold of her hand. She smiles when Rachel holds onto her hand tightly. She can't help but stare at Rachel with complete adoration as the girl holds onto her hand like a baby holds onto its mothers thumb.

"Rachel" Quinn softly says, turning Rachel to face her "I promise you that I will help you with this. I caused you to become like this, and now, I'm going to be there every step of the way, until you get better. I'll call you beautiful everyday"

Rachel blushes and ducks her head "I'm not"

Quinn tips Rachel's head up with her finger, looking into chestnut eyes. "Yes, you are. Inside and out. I will stick with you until the girl who shared her last sugar cookie with me in first grade is out. Until the girl who let me borrow her favourite pink crayon, the girl who held my hand as I was too scared to cross the balance beam in the playground on my own is standing here before me. That was the girl that I got to see these past few days." Quinn cups Rachel's cheek "And that's the girl I'd like to see from now on, because she is a wonderful and beautiful human being. She is the girl who-" Quinn bites her tongue, silently berating herself from almost spilling the beans. She looks into Rachel's eyes, seeing that they're glistening with unshed tears, "Has a dream so big that whoever she tells it to, can't help but become captivated in your story. Your dream"

Quinn doesn't even realise Rachel is hugging her until she hears the girls quiet tears whispering in her ear. She wraps her arms around Rachel's waist and pulls her against her tightly, never wanting to let go. Never wanting to let this moment end because she knows that, once they break apart, it may not be the same.

"Quinn!" Quinn looks up from her notebook where she was continuing to scribble down lyrics. Judy stands in the door frame, her hand on her hip as she smiles at her daughter.

"Yeah?"

"I didn't know you were back."

"I snuck in through the back door. I didn't want to disturb you," Quinn smiles at her.

"Oh okay." Judy wipes her hands on her apron and walks into Quinn's room, shutting the door closed behind her.

Quinn watches with wariness as Judy walks over to her bed and sits down next to her. On instinct, Quinn closes her notebook, not allowing her Mum to see the lyrics. Judy's eyes flicker from the notebook to the window then back to Quinn.

"Quinn, I've been thinking and I realised, we never had 'the talk'"

"That's because Dad-"

"No no, not that one. But another one," Judy waves a dismissive hand at Quinn, as if she's swatting Quinn's thought away.

Quinn tilts her head to the side and looks at Judy in confusion "I don't understand."

"I'm talking about love, Quinn." Judy takes hold of Quinn's hands "When you love someone, you go for it. I mean when you truly love someone okay, not just some crush. When you love someone so much that it pains you to even think about never seeing them again, you grab hold of that love and never let go."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because you are in love. I can see it in your eyes Quinnie. You love someone whom you're not sure loves you back. But I can see the amount of love you hold for them Quinn and I'm telling you, go for it. You tackle that love straight on and you will realise that whom you love, may just love you back." Judy looks at Quinn with a hidden hint in her eyes.

It puzzles Quinn completely. What the hell is her Mum going on about?

"Don't think about becoming heartbroken, that is only a quarter of what you would feel if this person you love, this girl..." Judy's clasp on Quinn's hands tightens "is with someone who isn't you. If they send you away, at least you'll know that you tried. And that should be your proudest achievement. Don't wait for love to come your way, because if you do, love might just miss you."

Quinn nods slowly, completely confused by this spontaneous speech. Judy nods back at her and stands up from the bed, "Your milk and cookies are still there."

Quinn just nods, not knowing what to say. She watches Judy leave her room before turning to look out her window. Her eyes widen slightly as she finally pinpoints the hint she saw in Judy's eyes. It was knowing. Judy knows about her secret crush on Rachel.

* * *

Quinn stares up at her ceiling, not being able to drift off to sleep. She misses the feeling of Rachel in her arms. She misses having a body to curl up to. It was comforting, like when you would have a teddy with you in bed to curl up against. It gave comfort.

Not being able to stand it anymore, Quinn rolls out of bed and walks over to her window. She opens it, ignoring the biting chill of the wind and clambers up onto the tree branch to the side of her window. She shuffles herself along the branch, climbing through others to get closer to Rachel's window, using other, smaller branches to hold onto. She huffs a sigh of relief when she finally gets to the end of the branches, sitting in front of Rachel's window.

She taps against the glass lightly, listening out for movement. She steadies herself when she hears the rustle of bed sheets and the pitter patter of feet make their way to the window. The curtains are drawn open quickly as the window flies open. Rachel screams slightly upon spotting Quinn sitting behind her window sill. She lowers the bat she held above her head, her hand over her pumping heart.

"I thought you were a murderer," Rachel whispers, placing the bat down.

Quinn raises an eyebrow at her, "What kind of murderer knocks first?"

"A polite one."

The blonde shakes her head "Will you let me in? I'm freezing out here."

Rachel's eyes widen as she seems to just realise the outside temperature and quickly helps Quinn into the room "Why did you leave your room?"

"I-" Quinn blushes, realising how strange her reasoning is going to sound. "I couldn't sleep. I enjoy

sharing a bed with you, it make me sleep easier."

Rachel smiles and walks over to her bed "Same." She gets under the covers and hurries Quinn over who happily jumps under the covers.

"I also thought you'd want some company y'know. I know you don't like being in a room on your own that much and so-"

"Quinn?" Rachel says, stopping Quinn's monologue.

"Yeah?"

"Can you just hold me please?"

Quinn smiles to herself and shuffles over to Rachel "Of course" she says, letting Rachel move into her arms.

Both girls fall off to sleep with adorning smiles on their faces


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I feel this might become recurring due to College :/ But I will try to get at least one chapter up a week, no promises though!**

**Thank you to my Beta who corrected my awful grammar!**

**Enjoy**

* * *

The glee kids chat together, sat in their usual seats. Quinn sits at the back, looking at the whiteboard with boredom. Her teeth nibble on her bottom lip as she waits for Mr Schue to arrive. Or Rachel. She'd rather Rachel arrives first. She's made sure to keep the seat next to her empty just for the brunette. She knows it's early in their friendship but she can't not sit next to Rachel when they're in the same room. If she doesn't , she feels like she may explode.

Quinn immediately smiles brightly when Rachel walks into the room. It falls though when she notices the big hand clamped around Rachel's hand. She looks away from the couple as they make their way over to the two free seats in the front. Quinn glances up and catches Rachel's eye. Rachel smiles at her sadly, sitting down beside Finn. Quinn keeps the bile rising in her throat from projectiling over the pair when Finn wraps his arm round Rachel.

Ramona sits down next to Quinn and smiles sadly at her. Her eyes dart to Rachel then back to Quinn. She sighs and rotates in her seat, placing a hand upon Quinn's. She doesn't say anything to Quinn, all she does is squeeze her hand. It's all Quinn needs. The blonde looks over at Ramona and smiles at her in thanks.

"All right guys, time to talk about..." Mr. Schue finally enters the choir room and immediately walks over to the white board, scrawling a word onto it in his god-awful hand writing. "Sectionals! Who's got any ideas?"

It shocks everyone when Rachel's hand flies up into the air. Before she and Quinn went away, Rachel remained quiet when in the choir room, only speaking when adressed. Mr. Schue smiles at Rachel in encouragement and points at her.

"Yes, Rachel"

"As a former member of Vocal Adreneline, I can safely say that our best bet at beating them at Nationals is to do original songs."

"Okay keep that in mind when it comes to Nationals, but what about Sectionals?"

"I don't think you understood me, Mr. Schue." Rachel gets up from her chair and strides to the middle of the floor.

"Oh great, the hobbit won't shut up now," Santana mumbles.

"I propose, that to wow the judges we should do original songs for Sectionals, Regionals and Nationals."

Mr. Schue furrows his eyebrows together and takes a step forward, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Won't that be a little repetitive? The judges would have already seen-"

"Actually, each stage has different judges so we can still do original songs for all three and not be repetitive. Especially if we don't repeat those original songs," Rachel explains.

Quinn narrows her eyes at Mr. Schue when he scratches the back of his head. "Uh, that's a great idea but none of us are song writers."

Quinn recognises the look in Rachel's eyes and panics. As soon as Rachel looks over at her, she knows straight away what the brunette is about to say. She's already sinking into her seat when she says, "You have one right in this room Mr. Schue. Quinn," gesturing to the slowly reddening blonde.

Quinn notices Rachel's eyes lock onto Ramona and Quinn's interlocked hands before she looks away, now refusing to look in Quinn's direction.

"Is that true Quinn? You write songs?"

Everyone turn to looks over at Quinn who looks down into her lap, embarrassed. She hears Santana's snickers to her right and hits her without looking up. She shrugs and scratches at her neck. "Yeah, but they're not very good."

"No, they're not," Rachel says bluntly, bringing everyone's attention off of Quinn. "They're amazing. I heard her play one on our trip away."

"Well then," Mr. Schue says, clapping his hands together, "Quinn, next week you should perform us one of your songs and then start a workshop for us to think of songs for sectionals!"

"Shouldn't we do that this week? It is Sectionals next Friday. We should start working out choreaography," Rachel says, looking at Mr. Schue with a questioning look.

"Mike and Brittany can teach it to us sometime next week after they've though of it. Now...!"

Quinn shakes her head at her teacher, knowing that if they get through sectionals, it will all be down to pure luck.

* * *

Quinn grabs hold of Rachel's arm and drags her into the janitors closet. Rachel squeeks and begins to fumble around.

"I have pepper spray!" She says, right into Quinn's face.

Quinn reaches out and clamps her hand over Rachel's mouth, shutting her up. "It's me."

"Quinn! There are better ways for you to get me alone rather than manhandling me like you did! What would you have done if-"

"Why did you tell them," Quinn asks, cutting Rachel off.

"Because you have a talent and people need to know about it."

Quinn knows Rachel can't see her, but she hits her palm to her head and sighs. "I didn't want anyone to know about it."

"Well, why not," Rachel demands. Quinn doesn't want to answer, she can't answer. Because by answering, she'd have to tell Rachel that it shows how much she loves her and she's...she's not ready for everyone else to know that yet.

"I just don't, okay," Quinn growls, storming out of the janitor's closet. Rachel steps out after and goes to follow, only to have a hand on her arm stop her.

She looks up and sees the concerned eyes of Puck looking down at her. "I think you have some explaining to do," Puck says. Rachel nods and walks down the opposite end of the hallway with him.

* * *

"Wait, so you're telling me that you kissed her," Puck asks, watching Rachel with wide, excited eyes.

Rachel rolls her eyes at how Puck is practically drooling. "Yes and I enjoyed it."

Puck closes his eyes. "Hold on a sec, I need to picture this," he says, holding up his hand and turning his head to look up to the sky.

He stays silent whilst Rachel watches him with growing impatience. Her foot taps the ground with a fast pace, her fingers drum against her arms and her teeth gnaw on her bottom lip.

"Okay, I've got it stored in the wank-"

"Noah," Rachel repriminds.

"Woah, calm down, babe." He scratches his mohawk, "So, you kissed her and you liked it? And you hope your boyfriend doesn't mind it," he asks with a smirk.

Rachel, once again, rolls her eyes. "If you're done quoting Katy Perry, yes, I did. I don't want Finn to ever find out."

"Why? You've got to tell him, Rach!"

"Because he'll get hurt! I can't hurt him," Rachel sighs and slumps down onto the bench, staring out at the empty football field.

"The longer you keep this from him, the more hurt he'll get."

"I know, I know."

"So, are you going to confess your feelings to Quinn yet and dump Finn?"

Rachel looks away from the field, her eyes widening comically, "Noah, I-I can't do that. My Dads-"

"I didn't say to the whole town, Rach, I said just to Quinn." Puck stands from the end of the bench and walks so he's closer to Rachel, "Look, Rach, you need to tell Quinn how you feel. You can't play with her emotions like a yoyo. If you kiss her again but then go to Finn afterwards, it'll destroy her."

"How do you know? Quinn doesn't like me in that way."

"Can you really not see it?"

"See what?"

Puck sighs in exapseration. For a smart girl, Rachel can be really dense sometimes. "Think about it. You kissed her-your supposed enemy- but yet she didn't pull away or hit you. You tell her about your condition and instead of freaking out on you, she decides to help you. She's calling you beautiful every day until she can't any more. Rachel, Quinn has wanted to be here for you ever since you were little, but didn't think she could because of how you acted towards her, so she did what she did best-retaliated. It killed her to do so, but she was so full of pride she couldn't admit it. Quinn is in love with you, Rach. She'd take a bullet for you."

Rachel looks at Puck with disbelief, "No. No she isn't. You're just teasing me. Well, it didn't work."

"I'm not teasing you," Puck growls in frustration. Why couldn't she believe him?

"You are Puck, and I must say, it's not one of your best jokes."

"Fine. I tried to tell you but go ahead. Go play Quinn about, see what I care. Just know Rach, that if you do this, play Quinn about, it won't be a smooth road for you." And with that, Puck leaves an angry and frustrated Rachel behind.

* * *

Quinn jumps in her seat when Russell throws a College magazine down onto the table in front of her. She peers over at them, rolling her eyes when they settle on the OSU magazine.

"What's this?" Quinn asks, picking up the magazine.

"A buddy of mine put in a good word for you at OSU. He got some soccer scouts to agree to come to the championship game!"

Quinn peers up at her Dad from over the magazine "Dad, we need to win the tournament before going to the championship game."

"You guys will get there easily."

"I'm not sure what I want to do" Quinn goes back to eating her cereal.

"Rachel's known that she's wanted to go to NYADA since she could sing."

"But I'm not Rachel, Dad. I haven't planned my future like she has."

"But ever since you first touched a soccer ball, you've wanted to play it professionally,"

Quinn throws the magazine back onto the table, watching her Dad sit down in the seat opposite her."Maybe I don't want to do that anymore."

Russell looks at Quinn like she's a little naive girl that doesn't know what goes on in the big, bad world. It's patronising. "Well, what do you want to do then," he asks, a little too smug.

Quinn leans back in her chair and narrows her eyes. She purses her lips at her Dad-something she hasn't done in a very long time- and calmly replies, "I wish to compose music and songs."

Automatically, Russell brusts out into laughter. His fist pounds the table comically, his joyous laugh filling their dining room. Quinn stares at her Dad in astonishment as he continues to laugh hysterically, obviously thinking it was a joke. He holds his belly, his legs kicking about, as if someone was tickling him.

He wipes a tear away from his eye, "Oh god, Quinn, you are funny."

Quinn doesn't reply, she only purses her lips some more. Russell notices, his expression turning serious, "You weren't joking?"

"No."

"Oh, honey." Russell grabs hold of Quinn's hand, smiling up at Judy as she places their breakfast down onto the table. He doesn't notice Judy disappear upstairs. "You can play guitar okay, but you don't write songs."

Quinn narrows her eyes at her Dad. "How would you know?"

"Because I'm your farther. You just..aren't blessed in those areas. OSU is the place for you and soccer."

Judy walks back down the stairs, a disappointed expression on her face. Quinn looks up at her Mum and stands up, dropping Russell's hands from her own. She pushes her plate of bacon away from her and steps away from the table.

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going to school. Thanks Mum," Quinn says, kissing Judy on the cheek before grabbing her jacket and skatebaord, keeping her tears at bay.

Quinn runs down her drive way, anger and shame running through her body. She doesn't notice Rachel shouting out to her and takes off down the street, planting her feet onto her skateboard and letting it take her away.

As the front door shuts, Judy looks back at Russell who shakes his head at her and begins to dig into his breakfast. "That girl, Judy," he said, "doesn't know what's best for her."

Judy drops Quinn's music and lyric book onto the table beside Russell, watching her husband with distaste. "Actually, she does. Maybe if you have a look, you'll see. I have never been so disappointed in you," she says before grabbing Quinn's plate and storming off into the kitchen.

Russell looks down at the notebooks and swallows his food. He shakes his head and goes to take another bite, but something stops him. Faith. Faith in his wife and faith in his daughter's abilities. With a sigh, he drops his fork onto his plate and grabs the lyric book, opening the front page.

* * *

Quinn storms through the auditorium doors, throws her skateboard and jacket to the side haphazardly and turns to the band practising. She hands them all sheet music she found in the library (surprisingly enough).

"I know, I know," Quinn says when the band sends her incredulous looks. "Please, just play." They nod at her, sensing that Quinn just needs to sing this.

Quinn walks to the middle of the stage as Brad begins to play the keyboard, the notes echoing through the empty auditorium.

"_The day a door is closed  
The echoes fill your soul  
They won't say which way to go  
Just trust your heart_

_To find you're here for_  
_Open another door_  
_But I'm not sure anymore_  
_It's just so hard"_

Quinn shuts her eyes as the guitar riff starts to play through. Once the drums come in, she starts to dance, her moves in rhythm with the beat. She spins on the spot, planting her feet shoulder width apart as she sings the next verse.

_"Voices in my head  
Tell me they know best  
Got me on the edge  
they're pushin,' pushin,'  
they're pushin'"_

Quinn begins to move once more, her movements smooth and natural. Not only is she speaking through lyrics, but she's speaking through dance as well. She channels her anger at her Dad, at his lack of support on her decision. She channels her conflicting emotion with Rachel.

_"I know they've got a plan  
But the balls in my hands  
This time its man-to-man,  
I'm driving, fighting inside_

_A world that's upside down  
Spinning faster  
What do I do now? Without you_

_I don't know, where to go, what's the right team?_  
_I want my own thing. So bad I'm gonna Scream!_  
_I can't choose, so confused! What's it all mean?_  
_I want my own dream. So bad I'm gonna Scream!"_

As Quinn sings her way through the next verse, she doesn't notice Rachel make her appearance at the top of the auditorium, by the seats. Rachel looks on, captivated as Quinn sings soulfully. Despite the odd song choice, Rachel still finds Quinn's singing wonderful. She hasn't got the same tone as Zac Efron, but her alto still seems to suit the song perfectly.

Rachel slides into a seat in the middle just as Quinn gets to the bridge.

_"Yeah, the clock's running down,  
hear the crowd gettin' loud!  
I'm consumed by the sound!  
Is it her? Is it love?"_

Rachel and Quinn's hearts both flutter at the word love, though both are too distracted to notice.

_"Can the music ever be enough?  
Gotta work it out, gotta work it out!  
You can do it, you can do it!"_

At some point during the bridge, Quinn had grabbed herself a guitar-something Rachel did not pick up. She looks on in amazement as Quinn throws herself into the guitar solo, her skills coming out. Quinn takes off the guitar at the end of the solo and throws it off stage and delves back into the chorus.

She glides across the stage, her leg bouncing to the beat. Her moves are hard hitting with the music, her body locking and unlocking effortlessly. Rachel never knew Quinn could dance like that. All she ever saw of Quinn's dance abilities was the pathetic choreography Mr. Schue gave the New Directions at Regionals last year.

_"__I don't know, where to go, what's the right team?  
I want my own thing. I want my own thing!  
I can't choose, so confused! What's it all mean?  
I want my own dream. So bad I'm gonna Scream!"_

Thankfully, Quinn forgoes doing the cringe worthy scream at the end and just finishes the song with a final dance move. Quinn pants heavily, her eyes trained on the stage floor as she regains her breath. She turns round to the band and thanks them, happily taking the little jokes they throw at her for the song as they exit the room.

Quinn walks over to the edge of the stage at sits down, her feet dangling over the edge. Her head snaps up in surprise at the sound of clapping. She squints slightly, just making out the figure of Rachel walking down the aisle to meet her.

"Breaking into school to sing about your feelings? How very 'High School Musical' of you," Rachel says with a teasing smile.

Quinn chuckles, helping Rachel up onto the stage. "It's not exactly breaking in if the school is open in the mornings."

Rachel nods and looks out at the empty auditorium, a smile gracing her lips. She looks down at her hands, scratching at her scars. Quinn's hand automatically covers hers, stopping her from doing so. She looks up and sees Quinn's concerned eyes.

Rachel shakes her head slightly, realising that this is the time for her to ask Quinn about her feelings, on how she's feeling rather than the other way round. She stops whatever Quinn is going to say by interrupting her.

"Want to talk about what made you sing that?"

Quinn closes her mouth and looks away from Rachel. She runs her hands through her hair and shakes her head, "How are you feeling? Finn treating you okay?"

"Don't change the subject. I'm asking about you, now," Rachel says sternly. "Now, what's wrong?"

Quinn's silent for so long that Rachel feels she may have over stepped some sort of boundary. The blonde just stares ahead and takes her hands back from Rachel's. Rachel prepares herself for when Quinn gets up. She knows Quinn must need to speak about this instead of keeping it all locked up. Rachel knows exactly how bad that can be.

"It's my Dad," Quinn quietly admits, quelling Rachel's growing anxiety. "He-he just doesn't understand that Soccer isn't what I want to do for the rest of my life."

Rachel tilts her head to the side, "I thought you loved Soccer?"

"I do," Quinn says, "but that doesn't mean I would want to do it forever. I-I don't want to go to OSU."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I know it's a bit too hopeful and way out of my league to probably even consider but...I really want to attend Julliard."

Rachel's eyes widen, "Really," she says a little breathlessly, "Julliard?"

Quinn narrows her eyes at Rachel much like she did to Russell, "Do you not think I can do it?"

"No, no! I'm just shocked you even thought about that."

Quinn shrugs and leans back on her hands. "Yeah"

"What do you want to study?"

"Song writing or music composition, whatever they call it there. But mainly song writing."

Rachel clears her throat, "I don't think they have a song writing course. They have a music composition course though." Rachel looks at Quinn like a light bulb went off in her head. "But I do know which college does have a song writing programme that also incorporates music composure! NYADA!"

"NYADA? Really?"

"Yes! Oh Quinn, we must go look now, I know Graduation is months away but it doesn't hurt to look." Rachel goes to leave, but Quinn's hand on her arm stops her from doing so.

Quinn smiles at Rachel's excitement, thinking about how adorable the girl is. "Like you said Rach, we've got months."

"It never hurts to be prepared Quinn! I've been preparing myself for NYADA ever since I was-"

"Four years old," Quinn finishes for Rachel, rolling her head to look at her. She smiles, not realising how close their faces were until now. Rachel's nose is close to touching hers. "I know. I listen."

Rachel blushes and looks down at her hands. "I'm sorry, I forgot. Not many people tend to listen."

"I do."

"I know."

Rachel looks back up at Quinn, her hair falling over her left eye like a curtain. She sucks in a breath as Quinn's hand reaches up to brush the fallen hair behind her ear again. Quinn's soft hand cups her cheek gently, hazel eyes darting down to Rachel's plump lips.

Quinn swallows nervously, "Can I kiss you?"

Rachel nods, even though she desperately wants to say Quinn doesn't need to ask. She forgets all about Finn once again and allows the familiar feeling of Quinn's lips touching hers to take over again. Her hands grab hold of Quinn's neck, pulling the girl closer to her. She moans into Quinn, allowing her tongue to move into her mouth.

Quinn smiles into the kiss, holding onto Rachel's cheek with her left hand whilst her other one holds her hip. She gives Rachel one last peck before breaking away, the bell ringing through the school.

Quinn heaves herself up from the floor, holding her hand out to Rachel. She smiles when Rachel doesn't let go of it once she's standing, instead she interlaces their fingers together whilst they walk out of the auditorium.

However, the happy feeling disappears as soon as Rachel drops her hand and walks up to Finn, allowing him to greet her with a sweet peck on the cheek. Quinn looks on, slightly heartbroken before turning around and walking in the opposite direction, ignoring the sympathetic look from Ramona.

* * *

Quinn winces slightly, a hiss passing her lips as the nurse removes her stitches, lightly wiping at her arm with a cloth. She bites her lip as the final one is pulled away and one final wipe is swept down her arm. The nurse smiles at Quinn before she starts wiping Quinn's arm with antiseptic.

"You'll have this wound for a few years," the nurse says as she finishes up.

Quinn's feet kick against the bed and she nods, finally happy she won't have to wrap her arm in a bag every time she showers. The nurse packs her things away, informing Quinn that her doctor will be with her in a short moment before pulling open the curtain and leaving.

Quinn peers round the room and jumps off the bed. She scrunches her eyebrows together as she stares at a picture of a liver. At least, she thinks it's a liver. It's kind of...icky. It isn't in a liver shape...more like a bunny rabbit. Actually, it kind of looks like the one in Alice in Wonderland. She chuckles to herself as imagines the liver jumping around saying to all the other organs, "I'm late! I'm late! Oh so very late!"

"That's what will happen if you drink too much alcohol."

Quinn spins round, smiling when she spots Dr. Edwards smiling back at her. His grey hair is combed back like normal, his face cleanly shaven and his smile welcoming. She walks back over to the bed and jumps back on, kicking her feet about again like a little girl.

"What's up, Doc," she asks with a cheeky smile.

Dr. Edwards rolls his grey eyes at her and shakes his head. "It seems to me that your arm is absolutely fine. The stitches didn't become infected-well done by the way-and your wound healed very nicely."

"Rachel made sure I kept them clean"

Dr. Edwards raises an eyebrow, "Is this the same Rachel who rushed to your aid when you hurt your arm?"

Quinn nods, taking a lollipop from the tin Dr. Edwards offers her.

"You have a good friend in her, Quinn. Tell your Dad I said hi," he says before opening up the curtain and allowing Quinn to leave. Quinn's Dad used to go to school with Dr. Edwards, they both were good friends to one another. Russell stopped a group of bullies from beating Dr. Edwards up once.

Quinn grabs her skateboard from the desk where the receptionist kept hold of it, smiling at her in thanks and rolls out of the hospital, gliding onto the pavement and weaving between pedestrians.

She kicks her board up, easily grabbing it in her hand when she spots Russell waiting for her on their doorstep. She slowly makes her way up the driveway, stopping when she gets to her Dad. He peers up at her and smiles weakly. She notices a magazine rolled up in his hands, but can't quite make out the front cover.

She wordlessly sits down next to Russell, her hands fiddling with the wheels of her skateboard.

"Y-Your...lyrics are...," Russell trails off, making Quinn think the worst. Did he not like them? How did he even find them? "Beautiful, Quinn. I couldn't read your music-that's where your talents come from your mother-but Judy did tell me that what you had composed was amazing."

"Mum gave them to you?"

Russell nods, "Right after you left." He licks his lips, "If you wish to go to NYADA or Julliard, I will support you all the way, Quinn." Quinn smiles, ducking her head to look at her board. "But, promise me that you'll have OSU as a backup plan? The scouts will still come to the championship game."

"I don't-"

"Just in case you don't get in. This is only an if because there's not a single doubt in my body that you won't. I have faith in you." He hands Quinn the magazine, revealing it to be NYADA'S.

"Okay," Quinn agrees, holding the magazine in her hand.

Russell smiles and gets up, wrapping his arm around Quinn, "Now, how about we get take out tonight," he asks as he guides Quinn into the house.

Quinn nods her head, unable to contain her smile. Her Dad is the best.

* * *

**Hope you guys like it! Please review, I'd love to hear your opinions!**

**Song used: Scream-HSM3**

**Thank you**

**xx**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey guys, so sorry I'm late. Extremely late. I hope this chapter makes up for my tardiness :S**

**Thanks so much for the reviews on the last chapter 3**

* * *

The whole kissing in private thing has sort of become a regular occurrence between Rachel and Quinn the past few days. Quinn would just be strolling down the hallway and she'd find herself inside the girl's toilets, Rachel kissing the life out of her. Quinn doesn't complain, why would she? The girl of her dreams is kissing her after all. But then once they finish, Rachel ends up walking down the hall with Finn, or having Finn kiss her cheek at her locker or walk her to class. She can't say it doesn't hurt because...well...it does. A lot.

Quinn's flat out refused to share her songs to the glee club- much to Rachel's disappointment-but she did agree to help them with writing them. Every night she's been sneaking into Rachel's room and wrapping her arms round her like they were together. It's nice to be able to hold Rachel like she does, snuggling together at night.

She hasn't yet spoken to Rachel about the whole kissing behind Finn's back thing. If she were to be honest, it's because she's scared Rachel will pull back and stop all interaction between them. But she's not, so she claims it's to keep Finn from getting hurt.

Also, Quinn's mind has been pre-occupied with other things. Like Soccer. The tournament is tomorrow and she's been practising like crazy. Some days she comes home too exhausted to do anything, even climb the tree to Rachel's. But she still does because it's Rachel.

Her heart is pounding like crazy in her rib cage as the ball runs along in front of her feet. She needs to shake away her thoughts of Rachel, they'll only distract her. Her eyes zero in on the goal that Ramona is standing in front of, kitted out in goal keeper gloves. She's close; her team mates are blocking their opponents, keeping a clear path for her. She furrows her eyebrows together, pounding her feet harder against the grass, pushing faster, trying to run faster. That's when she sees her, a little ball of brown in the corner of her eye. One moment she's looking at Ramona, the next she has a mouth full of grass and is staring up into the worried eyes of Rachel.

"Quinn, are you okay?"

Quinn coughs slightly and smiles up at Rachel "You really have got to stop doing that" She says.

Rachel smiles back at her "I'm so sorry. Here" Rachel holds her hand out to Quinn, hoisting the fallen blonde up from the ground.

"Jesus Christ Berry, what where you trying to do? Kill her?" Santana asks, standing next to Quinn and patting the grass off of her. Quinn places a hand onto Santana's arm, stopping her movements and walking towards Rachel. She frowns when Rachel flinches slightly, her hurt shown clearly on her face. A flash of guilt flows through Rachel's eyes as she relaxes, waiting for Quinn to make a move.

Quinn places a hand on Rachel's arm and gently says "Remember to use that on the opposing team at the tournament"

"Everything okay girls?" Coach Washington asks, having finished her argument with Sue and noticing the close proximity of the two normally rivalling girls.

"Everything's fine coach, Rachel just got too into the game" Quinn says, smiling at Rachel before moving away. Coach nods and blows her whistle, getting the girls to carry on.

* * *

Quinn stands in the parking lot in front of the coach, her duffel bag slung over her shoulder. She shivers slightly, the cold weather nipping at her bare legs. She rubs her hands together to try and gather warmth, blowing onto them. She sighs and gives up, knowing that's not going to work. She peers round, only seeing Coach Washington having yet another argument with Sue before she turns round and strolls toward Quinn with a victorious smirk.

"I'm telling you" Roz says as she stands next to Quinn "It's getting easier and easier to wind that woman up"

Quinn laughs "I'm surprised she hasn't demanded half of our budget"

Roz clicks her tongue "She wouldn't get it anyway. We're the only sports team at this school actually winning our matches" She looks at her watch "Where are the girls?"

As she says this, the rest of the team turn the corner, all of them chatting animatedly with each other. Their faces scream with excitement, feeling the buzz of the tournament. Quinn smiles and bites her lip when she spots Rachel chatting with Ramona. Her mind casts back to last night and how they kissed for so long that Quinn's lips were swollen for the rest of the night. But then she remembered Finn and it was as if someone had punched her in the gut with a boxing glove reading 'guilt'

But, she pushed it aside and curled up with Rachel like before and fell asleep in her arms.

"Where have you girls been? You were meant to be here one minute ago!" Roz says, glaring at the group of giggling girls.

"Sorry, Coach" Rachel says, stepping forward "I got them all a little excited about this whole tournament and well...they got slightly distracted"

Roz eyes Rachel for a moment, knowing that if she does for too long, Rachel may become self conscious. She looks away from Rachel just as her hands began to twitch and nods "Get onto the coach" she says to everyone.

Ramona grabs Quinn's arm, leading her to the back of the coach, Santana and Brittany sitting in front of them. Quinn frowns, wanting to sit next to Rachel who's sitting on her own, a little dejectedly, at the front. She looks over at Ramona and raises her eyebrow at her.

Ramon shrugs "It would be weird for the girls to see you two all chummy considering you were at each other's throats only a week ago"

Frustrated, Quinn sits back and plugs the ear phones to her iPod in, quietly tapping out the beat to her songs. She closes her eyes, wishing to sleep through the journey.

Unfortunately, that does not happen to Quinn due to the ruptus laughter around her and the finger poking her cheek. She opens one eye, looking up at Brittany. Brittany smiles at her and waves.

"You're awake!" She says

"Yes" Quinn says, rubbing at her eye. She peers round, seeing they're on the highway "How long was I out for?"

"Twenty minutes" Brittany says "I woke you up because Rachel is over there looking real sad and I know you can make her happy. Plus, she totes keeps looking at you"

Quinn glances over and sure enough notices Rachel's eyes on her, the brunette quickly looks away, shy under Quinn's gaze. She puts away her iPod and gets up, making her way down the coach. Some of her team mates stop chatting to watch her, intrigued to where she is going.

Quinn stands next to Rachel's chair, her hand wrapping round the back of it and clears her throat. Rachel looks up at her, the corners of her mouth turning up. Pale fingers drum against the material of the chair as the two girls stare at each other, both drinking the other in. Quinn looks at Rachel's sparkling, mischievous eyes and her knowing smirk. She knows what Quinn is going to ask, she just wants her to do so.

"That seat taken?" She asks, nodding to the seat beside Rachel.

Rachel tilts her head so her hair falls over half her face like a curtain "No"

"Mind if I sit?"

The brunette removes her duffel bag and scooches up so Quinn can slide into the seat beside her. They both share a smile, their hands clasped in the laps. Quinn looks round, glaring at those who are staring at them.

Quinn notices Rachel's hair is still covering half her face and reaches out to push it back. She smiles when she sees all of Rachel's face "There. Now everyone can see how beautiful you are"

Rachel blushes and looks down "Thank you." She looks up, licking her lips-an action Quinn's eyes focus on immediately-and studies Quinn.

"You nervous?" Rachel asks.

Quinn smiles "Nah. Not yet anyway. I'm just excited for the party they throw. Even though they say no alcohol, people still sneak it in and even some teachers drink it"

"At Carmel, our coach threatened us if we ever brought alcohol to the party. Heck, they even threatened if we went"

"Yeah, Roz doesn't really care as long as we're not hung-over the next day-depending on whether we have a match or not"

"Really? Will-will you be going?"

"That depends"

"On what?"

"Whether you will be going"

Rachel smiles up at Quinn, nodding her head. Quinn grins at her "Great."

* * *

Quinn squints her eyes through the crowd, peering round for Rachel. Once they arrived at their rooms, everyone immediately changed and headed down to the already started party. Quinn offered to wait for Rachel, but the brunette told her to go ahead without her.

A random girl places a cup into her hand, screams in her face, saying 'I love this song!' before dancing off into the crowd, leaving Quinn baffled. Seems to never change round here. She takes a sip at the drink, 'hmming' at the fruity taste before walking her way round the room, hoping to see Rachel.

Ramona stumbles over to Quinn, furrowing her eyebrows when she notices the drink in her hand and the sober look in Quinn's eyes "Y'not dwunk?" Ramona asks, swaying slightly. Quinn grasps her upper arm, holding her steady.

"Not yet" she says, before knocking back the rest of her drink.

Ramona beams at her "l's fix dat" She says, grabbing hold of Quinn's hand and dragging her through the crowd to the drinks table, lining up shots.

Quinn takes them all easily, forgoing the salt and lime and just drinking straight tequila. She hears a few wolf whistles from the people around her before she and Ramona demand more.

It doesn't take long for Quinn to become drunk. She and Ramona stumble into the main area, both giggling away at absolutely nothing. A few of their opponents say hi to them, some with flirtatious smiles. They just wave at them and rub their faces, and with one look to each other, crack up in laughter.

"You're smashed" Santana says, swaying slightly herself as she stands in front of the two drunk girls.

Quinn shakes her head; her hair swinging left and right "No no no. You're drunk"

"What does Berry think about this?"

At the mention of Rachel, Quinn pushes herself away from Ramona, looking round the room like a Meerkat "Rachel's here?"

"Yeah, she arrived about thirty minutes ago"

"Oh" Quinn pouts, slumping back against Ramona who giggles quietly.

Santana purses her lips at her friends and shrugs "Fuck it, why do you two get to have fun and I don't?" she asks, tipping back her drink before waltzing away to get more.

"Dance with me!" Ramona shouts, grabbing Quinn's hand and dragging her to the dance floor.

Quinn smiles and throws her arms up into the air, moving her body to the music. She and Ramona dance facing each other for a while, both just content on moving to the music, but when the song changes, Ramona spins herself around and begins to grind her ass into Quinn's crotch.

Quinn groans, biting her lip and placing her hands onto Ramona's hips. They both sway together, moving sensually against each other. Quinn closes her eyes, imagining it's Rachel dancing with her, rubbing her ass against her. She smiles when a moan fills her ear as her lips touch onto skin, her eyes still closed. She kisses all over the smooth skin she imagines, sucking at certain spots, smirking when a louder moan fills her ear.

Soon, the smooth skin is gone and replaced with soft lips. She can't help but compare them to Rachel's. Rachel's are softer, like clouds. They taste better as well...like cherry. These ones taste of beer and smoke. Ramona pulls away and takes hold of Quinn's hand.

"Upstairs?"

Quinn nods, still in her Rachel induced haze and allows Ramona to drag her away from the mini party to the lobby. They head straight to the elevators, waiting impatiently for it as their hands roam each other's body. Quinn moans when her back slams against the wall next to the lift's doors and lips attach themselves to her neck.

"Quinn?"

Ramona doesn't remove her lips from Quinn's neck, but Quinn opens her eyes, looking to the lift at the person who's just stepped out from the lift. Her eyes focus on brown ones, staring back at with surprise and...Jealousy?

Quinn smiles at Rachel, still allowing Ramona to continue "Hey Rachel" She moans when Ramona sucks on the skin between her jaw and neck.

Rachel's eyes focus in on that spot, remembering how mere days ago she was the one sucking on it. She looks away awkwardly.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asks.

"I was uh-" Rachel looks back at Ramona who's hand is starting to creep up Quinn's shirt, skirting across smooth abs "Coming to the party to find you"

"Well I'm here!" Quinn says with a smile, giggling when Ramona blows on her ear before taking her earlobe into her mouth.

Rachel looks down and nods "Ye-yes. I can see" She looks back up with anger. "It's also very inappropriate for you two to do that here."

Quinn shrugs "I'm enjoying it, Ramona's enjoying it, the concierge over there seems to be enjoying it-" Quinn points over to the young concierge watching the three of them with wide, longing eyes. "So why not?"

"Because it's disrespectful!" Rachel hisses "It should be something for the bedroom, not in public" she spits out.

Quinn pushes Ramona back slightly, narrowing her eyes a little at Rachel. She seems to be determined to get them to stop. "Why do you care?"

Rachel blanches, fiddling with her hands "I-I don't"

"I'll meet you in my room" Ramona purrs against Quinn's ear, knowing that this conversation is going to carry on regardless of her being there or not. She pulls Quinn down into one last kiss before walking into the lift.

"You do, otherwise you wouldn't have batted an eyelid at us. I'll ask again, why do you care?"

"I told you, I don't care. You can kiss whoever you like, it's not like we're dating or anything" Rachel hisses angrily.

Quinn's stunned, not expecting the way the words 'It's not like we're dating' to hurt so much. Oh how she wishes they were. How she wishes that Rachel would scream at her right now, slap her across the face and then profess her undying love for her. But that's wishful thinking.

"No. We're not. We shouldn't even be having this conversation" Quinn growls, stepping away from the wall "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a girl to ravish" She walks past Rachel into the lift.

"Don't get my sheets dirty!" Rachel shouts just as the doors close.

Quinn sighs and leans back against the railing on the wall. She takes a few deep breathes. That was...heated. It almost seemed as if Rachel was jealous. She did seem to have the green monster hanging onto her back. Does...does that mean that Rachel likes Quinn the same way she likes Rachel? Or was she just angry that they were so promiscuous in public?

The latter seems more believable. Quinn shakes her head and steps out of the elevator. Time to get on with this and get Rachel out of her head.

* * *

**There it is! I hope you enjoyed it!**

**Tell me what you thought of it :D**

**Thanks for reading.**

**xx **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys, I'm sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I've been writing it for the entirety of my Xmas holidays but my computer kept on crashing and word hadn't been saving my work and blah blah but I got it done finally!**

**Hope you guys had a good Christmas! Or if you don't celebrate it I hope you had a good break from Work/School/College/University.**

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter. Many of you did not like what happened between them, which is great! I didn't want you to like it. Hopefully this makes you all happy again.**

**(and depending on what time you are reading this) HAPPY NEW YEAR, have a great 2013!**

* * *

_**A few weeks ago**_

Ramona and Puck stand in the middle of the room, both staring at Judy and Hiram. The parents of their closest friends invited them round to ask them to do something for them. But they don't know what yet. Rachel isn't here with Hiram and Quinn is nowhere in the home. Ramona pieces the clues together. They want Puck and her to do something to do with Rachel and Quinn.

"You two are probably wondering why we asked you to come here" Judy says, though she's speaking to Puck more than Ramona.

Hiram steps forward, his arms crossed across his chest and a serious expression on his face "As you two are aware, our children never got along. They claimed to hate each other"

Puck and Ramona only nod, not knowing if it's okay to speak.

"But as we know, it's not true. It was the whole elementary school thing; a boy likes a girl and is too afraid to admit it so he pulls her hair, steals her crayons, etcetera" Judy says with a wave of her hand "I'm hoping that this little trip they have together will resolve it and they'll finally admit the way they feel about each other"

Hiram nods and steps forward "Unfortunately, our daughters are both very stubborn and sometimes, a little dense-"

"You got that right" Puck mumbles to Ramona. Hiram hears him and glares at him; Puck cowers back a little, finding the smaller man intimidating "Sorry"

Ramona figures out what they're about to ask. Not wanting to get a glare from Hiram, she sticks her hand up, waiting for Hiram to nod at her. She clears her throat and fiddles with the button on her jacket "You two want us to get them to realise how the other feels and go after them?"

Judy nods, smiling happily "Yes. Now, Noah you will obviously be handling Rachel."

"I've been trying for sometime but she just keeps on throwing excuses at me" Puck says, scratching his head.

"Try harder" Judy replies, she turns to Ramona and smiles sadly at her "I know this will break your heart Ramona, but I need you to convince Quinn to pursue Rachel. Don't let your feelings cloud this okay? Also-" Ramona flushes in embarrassment; she thought she covered her crush up better than that. "Even though when Quinn wants something, she stops at nothing to get it, there are sometimes certain things or people that stop her from doing so"

"Finn"

"Yes, so you'll have to give her that little push"

Hiram clears his throat "Puck, you'll need to convince Rachel to leave Finn. As nice as that boy is, he is not good enough for my little girl-neither is Quinn, no one ever will-but Quinn is better for her. She's smarter, has a brighter future and although she hides it" Hiram looks to Judy "She has a heart of gold that I know my Rachel needs in someone"

"It's the same with Quinn. The three girls Quinn's brought home are no good for her. But Rachel is. Quinn is happier with Rachel around, even when the snide insults are being thrown around."

Ramona looks over at Puck, silently asking him a question. He shrugs as if to say 'What the hell' and nods. She turns back to Judy and Hiram and nods "We'll try"

"No, don't try, do" Judy says. "One more thing: Don't let this slip to Leroy, Russell, Santana, Brittany or Kurt and Mercedes. They will defiantly end up telling the girl's"

"I've never spoken to Kurt or Mercedes" Puck says "So you don't need to worry about those two"

Judy and Hiram both nod "So it's settled. Operation Get-Faberry-Together is a go" Hiram says with a smile.

Ramona raises an eyebrow "Uh...what's 'Faberry'?"

"Fabray and Berry merged together! I thought of it, clever right?" Hiram says, buzzing with joy.

"It's different"

"Great" Hiram smiles "Go on then, get on with your planning" He says, moving the two teens out of the home.

"We want frequent reports!" Hiram shouts before shutting the door.

Ramona looks over at Puck and frowns "How are we going to do this Puck?"

The mohawked boy shrugs "Think like Cupid"

Like Cupid. Right.

* * *

_**Present day**_

Quinn stares down at her feet, her head in her hands. She rocks back and forth slightly, her fingers gripping onto her hair. She tugs, hissing at the slight pain she feels. She tugs once again, needing to feel the pain again, to punish herself. She feels a hand rub her back through her t-shirt but shakes her head, silently telling them not to do so.

"It's okay Quinn" Ramona says.

The blonde removes her head from her hands and looks over at the still fully clothed Ramona. Upon returning to the room, neither of them got very far before Quinn messed it up. They've been sat like this for the past twenty minutes. Ramona sat beside her quietly whilst Quinn rocked back and forth, berating herself for what she's doing.

"No, it's not" Quinn mumbles, rubbing the palm of her hands against her eyes "It's not okay"

"It is. I don't care that you said her name, Quinn. I don't care that you don't want to continue because of her"

Quinn stands up from the bed and stands in front of Ramona. Su he runs a hand through her hair in frustration "But you should care! You should care that I sad Rachel's name whilst you where kissing me"

Ramona also stands from the bed "I don't care. I know how you feel about her Quinn, heck, most of us do. We got drunk and didn't know what was going on. We weren't in control of our actions."

"I was! I knew what was going on yet I still continued it. I knew how badly this must hurt Rachel, I could see how it was affecting her and yet I still continued. I just wanted her to feel the hurt and jealousy I feel every time I see her on Finn's arm."

Quinn begins to pace, her hands tugging on her hair once again. Ramona watches her with worried eyes.

"I'm sure she's fine Quinn, all you'll need to do is explain it to-"

"Explaining won't do anything Ramona!" Quinn shouts "What I said to her out there, what we were doing out there is going to make her condition even worse! I promised I would help her get better but I've only gone and done the opposite! Instead of getting her away from Finn, I've just shoved her right back into his arms! He's looking like a knight in fuckign shining armour compared to me! How is she meant to believe I love her after this?"

Ramona swallows the lump in her throat and walks forward. She places her hand on Quinn's arm, stopping her pacing "I'll tell you" She removes her hand from Quinn's arm "You are going to march out there, apologise for everything you said to her, everything you did and then you are going to tell her how much you love her! After that you will spend every single day proving to Rachel how much you really love her and how much better you are than Finn"

"How am I going to do that?"

"Compliment her every time you see her. Carry her books for her; walk her to and from class. Join her at lunch. Take her on little dates disguised as friends hanging out. Leave roses and little messages in her locker and bag. Serenade her outside her frickin window or heck, even pull a John Cusack and hold a boom box outside her window playing a romantic song! Just anything that will show her your love. Fight for the one you love Quinn, don't hide behind your walls and act like you don't care she goes back to Finn. Don't use other girl's to hide your pain."

"Okay"

They both just stare at each other, Quinn's wide eyes staring at Ramona's calm and relaxed ones. Ramona rolls her eyes at her friend.

"Go!" she says, pointing to the door.

"Right now?"

"Yes!"

Quinn scurries across the room and flies out the door. Ramona shakes her head and sits down on the edge of the bed. She takes a deep breath and lets her emotions out. She looks at the open door as a single tear trickles down her cheek.

...

"Rachel!" Quinn shouts as she runs into the lobby "Rachel!"

"Quinn"

Quinn spins on her heel, her eyes landing on Rachel sitting down on the stairs watching her with red, teary eyes. Quinn frowns and slowly makes her way over to her.

"What do you want?" Rachel says gruffly, shuffling a little to give Quinn room to sit down "Rub the fact that you can screw any girl you like in my face again?"

"No. I've come to apologize to you" Quinn says softly. Rachel glances at Quinn for a moment, her eyes scrutinizing her before looking away "I shouldn't have said what I did, I shouldn't have done what I did. I am so sorry for hurting you"

"I don't need your apology. Go back to fucking Ramona"

"I don't want Ramona"

"Was she that bad? Didn't fulfil your needs?" Rachel sneers. She sniffs and looks down at her lap, not wanting to look at Quinn. Her fingers begin to pick at her hands.

"I didn't go through with it. I couldn't" Quinn grabs Rachel's hands, stopping her from picking at them "Not when all I could think about was you and how poorly I treated you."

"So you came out here to tell me this and then go back to her. Well, you've done that so if you'll excuse me" Rachel gets up and begins to walk away.

Quinn is quick to follow her, her footsteps pound against the flooring as she starts to jog after Rachel who seems to be walking faster than normal. Quinn reaches for Rachel's hand and turns her around. They both just stare at each other, Quinn looks at Rachel with wide, pleading eyes, her mouth opening and closing. Rachel looks at Quinn with withdrawn, cold, sad eyes refusing to allow Quinn to worm her way back to her.

"I stopped it before it could go any further" Quinn says in a whisper "Because I couldn't-I can't get you out of my head Rachel. Every day I wake up and I immediately think of you. I think 'What adorable outfit is Rachel going to wear today?' or 'Will she smile at me?' and 'What will I hear her sing today? And will it be for me?' You are forever on my mind Rachel, everything I do; I link it back to you. When I'm skating, I'm wondering if you're going to be there watching me, when I'm writing a new song about you, I'm wondering if you'll like it."

Rachel purses her lips together, stopping a sob from escaping her throat at Quinn's words. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks down at her feet, she shakes her head "It-that doesn't matter. It's like you said, I had no reason to be angry with you. You're single and I'm in a relationship with a boy who loves me and treats me right"

"You have every right to be angry" Quinn steps closer to Rachel "I was being inconsiderate of your feelings. I just-I wanted you to feel the pain and jealousy I feel every time you run back to Finn. I realize now that not only has it hurt you emotionally, but it's not helping you physically either"

"Why would I be jealous? I'm with Finn and you're-you're just the girl next door" Rachel says coldly, still refusing to look at Quinn.

A sob gets stuck in Quinn's throat at Rachel's words. She knows they're not true, but they still hurt. "Don't lie, Rachel. I know I mean much more than that to you"

"How would you know?"

"Otherwise you wouldn't be so upset with me right now"

"I'm not upset over you. I'm upset for Ramona because I know you're just using her"

Quinn steps forward once more, coming toe to toe with Rachel "Rachel, look me in the eye and tell me I mean nothing more to you than the girl next door. Because I don't believe that, you feel something for me I know it but you're too afraid to admit it"

"What about you? Do you feel something for me?" Rachel asks, still avoiding Quinn's eyes.

"I love you Rachel" Quinn says "I love you a hell of a lot. I've loved you since I first saw you, when you ran out of your house whining at Leroy about the removal men." Quinn tips Rachel's head up with her finger, her thumb wiping away the tears running down Rachel's cheek.

"You remember that?" Rachel asks her voice cracking.

"I remember everything. The song I sang in the cabin? That was about you. Every song I write is about you. You're my muse because I love you. That's why I get so jealous and angry when I see you with Finn" Quinn clears her throat "Now, look me in the eye and tell me you don't feel the same and you see me as the girl next door"

Rachel looks down at Quinn's perfect chin and licks her lips. Her mouth opens and closes a few times "I-I can't" She says, shaking her head and stepping away "I can't be with you Quinn"

The hand on Rachel's cheek drops to Quinn's side limply. It feels like the air in her lungs as been punched out of her. Quinn takes a deep breath, trying to keep her heart calm and looks at Rachel with as much strength she can muster. She feels her knees shake but she ignores it.

"I need to be with Finn. He treats me how I need to be treated"

Quinn shakes her head "I can treat you right Rachel" she feels a tear make its way down her cheek, but she doesn't bother wiping it off, she's more focused on what Rachel is telling her.

"Can you? Because in all honesty Quinn, you've made it really hard for me to believe that you love me. Especially with what you were doing earlier"

"I was drunk. I promise you Rachel, I will treat you right, I promised you I would help you with your condition and I will! I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated; I will prove to you how much I love you!" Quinn cups Rachel's face once again, her thumb brushing along the skin of her cheek "If you give me the chance"

Rachel shakes her head "There's no way you can love me Quinn. I haven't exactly been nice to you. I've called you names, harmed you, and annoyed you. To you, I must just be the big nosed annoying Jewish girl who can't keep her mouth shut" A sob escapes Rachel's throat as she says the last words, her true fears coming out.

Quinn realises why Rachel is so reluctant to believe her. She feels that because of how Rachel treated Quinn in the past, Quinn dislikes her. She doesn't believe her because Rachel believes that she is annoying and big nosed. She thinks that's why Quinn can't love her.

Quinn shakes her head and lifts her free hand to cup the other side of Rachel's face "No honey" she whispers "You aren't annoying, your nose is beautiful and I find the Jewish faith so interesting. You are kind, selfless, amusing, beautiful and amazing. Behind these walls you put up you are the girl I knew in elementary school, the girl I fell in love with" Quinn licks her lips "I'm going to prove to you how much I love you and make you believe me"

"How are you going to do that?" Rachel asks sniffling.

Quinn smiles at her "You're going to have to wait and see. Now, how about I walk you to your room and you get a good night sleep, we do have a tournament to play tomorrow" She holds her arm out to Rachel and waits for her to take it. Happiness fills her chest when Rachel does so, looking down at the ground shyly.

* * *

"Listen up! There will be a series of matches today leading to the Championship game that will take place in January! Today there will be the qualifiers, than the quarter finals leading to the semi finals and whoever wins the semi finals will go onto the Championship game. Now..."

Quinn zones out, rolling her eyes as she listens to the same guy from last year go over all the same rules. Everyone knows who are going onto the championship game already; it's the same every year. But yet other schools still compete in hopes of finally beating McKinley or Carmel. It never happens though. It hasn't happened for as long as Quinn has been on the team.

Santana nudges her side, gaining her attention "Ten bucks says that the fatties over there will quit after an hour and eat a donut" Quinn looks over to where Santana is pointing and chuckles. Mary Anne's weight watchers team all stand in a circle, their stomachs poking out from their team shirts.

"I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt, two hours" Quinn whispers.

Santana laughs and holds her hand out, waiting for Quinn to shake it "You're on"

Roz hits them both over the head with her clipboard upon hearing what the two girls were chatting about. She bites back a chuckle and quickly whispers to the girls "Half hour" causing them to burst out laughing, earning a glare from the runner of the tournament.

"First match: McKinley and John Adams!"

"Time to get our game on!" Santana says.

* * *

Quinn hunches over, wheezing desperately as she tries to get the air back into her lungs. Santana groans next to her as the first aid man puts antiseptic onto her cut. Brittany rubs Santana's back sympathetically, her eyes darting around at the other members on her team with a small frown.

Quinn stands back up, breathing heavily. Her hair sticks to the nape of her neck with sweat, her t-shirt clinging to her back. She looks around, frowning at seeing most of her teammates all being attended to. The John Adams teamed fouled on nearly every occasion. Whilst Santana was running with the ball towards the goal, one of their defenders stuck their leg out tripping Santana up.

Ramona got shoved to the ground as she jumped to header the ball over to Quinn when they had a throw in. Quinn got punched right into her stomach just as she was about to score a goal. Luckily she kicked the ball before the punch hit and still got the goal, but it still hurt.

She spots Rachel rubbing her hands together on the bench further down, picking at the bandage wrapped round her hand. She had cut it open when a halfback on the other team shoved her to the ground. That did not sit well with Quinn as she started to threaten the half backs life. The ref decided that it was time to call a time out at that point. Crappy ref didn't call out all the fouls.

"You okay?" Quinn asks as she walks up to Rachel.

Rachel looks up at her and nods slowly "I've done worse" She says softly, her voice low enough for only Quinn to hear.

Quinn crouches down and places her hand on Rachel's knee "I'm going to make sure that the bitch that pushed you doesn't get away with it okay? We'll get her back"

"No need to worry blondie" Roz says, walking up to the pair. Quinn's hand drops from Rachel's knee and she stands up, turning to their coach with confusion "I filed a complaint. We've won by default due to the amount of fouls they committed."

"What!" Santana shouts, standing up and pushing the medic away from her. She limps over to Quinn and Roz "They forfeited!"

"Yes"

"So we didn't win by being the best! Like we always do! We won because the other team are fuck heads!"

"Mind your language Lopez otherwise you'll be benched" Roz warns.

"We still won by being the best" Rachel says, standing up. She licks her lips nervously and glances at Quinn "We played fair. They had to resort to violence and unfair play to try and win. We were beating them by two points anyway so it doesn't really matter"

"Listen Berry, you've only just joined this team so you don't know how we work. We win by playing and beating them. I don't care if we were still the best by being fair, we didn't destroy those assholes by smashing ball after ball into the net"

Quinn chuckles at how sexual that whole sentence sounded, earning a punch on the shoulder from Santana.

"I do know how you work, _Lopez_" Rachel says with scorn."In case you've forgotten I've been your opponent for quite some time, meaning I have watched your plays closely. We still won; we put more balls into the net than they did so I don't see the problem!"

Quinn bites her lip, getting all hot and bothered at seeing Rachel angry. The way her eyes narrow, her eyebrows furrow together and her hips juts to the side is...hot.

"My problem is you and your-"

"Okay that's enough" Quinn growls, stepping between Rachel and Santana "We're on the same team, that means we have to be civil towards each other" She says, looking between Santana and Rachel "Rachel is right. We still won by being the best. End of discussion"

Santana grumbles under her breath and limps away, listening to Brittany chat away to her about Lord Tubbington. Roz pats Quinn on the back and goes to talk to the other coaches, well, shout at the John Adams coach.

"Come one" Quinn says, holding her hand out to Rachel "Let's watch the rest of these losers" She says, smiling when Rachel takes her outstretched hand.

* * *

"_So I put my hands up, they're playin' my song. The butterflies fly away I'm noddin' my head like "Yeah!"Movin' my hips like "Yeah!"..."_

Quinn laughs as her team dance up and down the coach, all singing the song together. They are all so happy and excited for the next match. They got into the Championship game with ease, of course against Carmel. But now Quinn's nerves are building up, this next game will determine whether Quinn has a future at OSU if she doesn't get into NYADA next fall.

She laughs when Brittany dances over to her, a cup filled with cola in her hand. She sways her hips, her hands up in the air dancing in front of Quinn. She tries to get Quinn to dance with her, but Quinn only laughs and shakes her head. Brittany shrugs and dances her way to Santana and Ramona.

Quinn smiles at her as she does. She's so glad they're all happy and having a good time. Despite the fact they do always do well at the Tournaments, it always comes to a shock to the girls, like they don't believe they were good enough. Which, is probably a better mind set than, thinking you are so good you don't have to lift a single finger.

"Are you not joining in?"

Quinn looks up, smiling when she sees Rachel standing in front of her. She's seemed to have forgiven Quinn for everything that has transpired the past few days and Quinn is grateful. But, that does not mean she's going to give up on Rachel. They maybe friends now, but Quinn hopes that soon, they'll be more.

"No, I tend to celebrate quietly" Quinn says, her hands fidgeting with her uniform.

Rachel notices the fidgeting hands and motions for Quinn to scotch up, slipping into the seat next to her "You're nervous for the next game" She states.

Quinn goes to lie, but upon looking at Rachel's face she decides against it "Yeah, just, my entire future rests on this last game. If I don't get that scholarship and don't get into NYADA then I'm going to end up a Lima loser"

Rachel sits down next to Quinn and frowns "Why are you worrying? You will get into NYADA and you will be travelling with me to the big apple this summer."

"Rachel, I'm not that good of a song writer. What I write is not what NYADA wants"

"You listen to me Quinn" Rachel says seriously, causing Quinn to smile slightly as she remembers that she used those same words on Rachel a few hours ago "You are amazing song writer. NYADA would be stupid not to accept you. They look for soul and heart in their students and what you write is..." Rachel sighs and smiles "One hundred times more than just your heart and soul"

"You think so?" Quinn asks, feeling extremely vulnerable now that she's told Rachel her worst fear on what could happen to her at the end of this year.

"I know so. If I didn't think you were great at it" Rachel takes out a folded up slip of paper and unfolds it. She hands it over to Quinn "I wouldn't have written this and then proceed to ask you to help with the music"

Quinn looks over the lyrics, flipping through the pages. "You wrote a song?" she asks in surprise.

Rachel nods shyly "I have been since I suggested writing original songs to the Glee club. I've already drawn up a chart for how much time we should use to get the perfect music to go with these. We could work on the music during Lunches and before Glee leading up to Sectionals next week?"

Quinn laughs and folds up the paper one again "You already wrote up a chart? How do you know I'll even agree to it?"

Rachel smirks at Quinn with a hint of smugness "You will" she says before taking back her lyrics and leaving Quinn in the seat, moving to dance with the rest of the team mates.

Quinn watches her and laughs to herself. She scratches the back of her head and looks out the window at the passing scenery.

Looks like she's going to be making music with Rachel Berry.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter and aren't so angry at Quinn anymore :S**

**Thank you for reading and I'd love it if you could give me at least one little sentence telling me your thoughts on this chapter!**

**Thanks very much**

**Song: Party in the USA- Miley Cyrus (Don't judge I just finished watching Pitch Perfect okay?)**

**xx**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys! I am so sorry this took so long for me to write! College has been crazy and the holidays really messed up my sleeping patterns and stuff but I promise, updates will becomes more regular now! (hopefully)**

**Thank you oh so much for the reviews in the last chapter, I loved them all!**

**If any of you read my other story The New Norm, I've put that on a hiatus for a while as I was finding it difficult to juggle these two stories on top of College work. I will continue writing it once this story gets close to the end.**

**Oh, also, I know I shouldn't really do this but: Over the holidays, I practised my editing skill for film studies by putting together a fan made trailer for this story onto Youtube, so I was wondering if you guys could check it out and tell me what you think? It's called Dangerous Game Trailer. I'll put a link to it at the bottom of this chapter. There are some spoilers in there as well so unless you don't mind finding out the spoilers, go ahead and watch!**

**Thank you for listening**

**On with ze chapter!**

* * *

Quinn stands outside the doors to the auditorium in the empty hallway. She watches as Rachel rushes about the stage, papers flying everywhere as she frantically looks for something. Quinn bites her lip, contemplating whether to wait or walk in now. Rachel finally grabs the right paper and sighs in relief, clutching it to her chest. Quinn quirks her eyebrow, smiling at the sparkle in Rachel's eyes and the small smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

She takes a deep breath, calming her pounding heart, feeling her guitar case hit against her thigh as it hangs loosely in her hand. She pushes the door open and slivers in.

Rachel's head flies up at the sound of the doors closing, her eyes smiling at Quinn as the blonde makes her way down the seats towards the stage. She calmly stacks her papers on top of the piano, silently hoping Quinn can't hear the way her heart sped up upon seeing her.

"You came then?" She asks, placing her hand on top of the piano.

Quinn smirks at her, placing her guitar down at her feet and resting her arms on the stage floor "I never miss an opportunity to play some music"

Rachel raises an eyebrow at her, matching the blonde's smirk with her own "Or spend time with me"

Quinn shrugs and hoists herself up onto the stage. She bends down and picks up her guitar case before standing up "Eh, I guess I can deal with that" She says with a playful smirk.

Rachel gasps and lightly punches Quinn's arm. Quinn gasps out in fake pain and drops her guitar case, dropping to her knees and grabbing hold of her arm.

Rachel gasps, quickly following Quinn to the floor "Oh Quinn I'm so sorry!"

Quinn groans out in pain, clutching her arm tightly "I think you broke it"

"I-I didn't mean to. I don't know my own strength I-" Rachel pauses in her frantic state when Quinn's laughter bubbles out of the pained blonde.

Rachel narrows her eyes at her, watching as Quinn's shoulders shake with laughter. Sparkling hazel eyes lock onto her before Quinn goes into a giggling fit, rolling around on the stage floor. Rachel gasps dramatically and begins to swat at Quinn over the head and on her arms.

"You were faking!" She shouts, trying to stop herself from laughing along with the blonde. However when Quinn looks to her, her body shaking with silent laughter as she bites her lip, Rachel can't keep it in anymore and laughs. Quinn soon follows and soon enough both girls are rolling on the floor, laughing until their stomachs hurt.

"I-I can't believe that-that you believed me!" Quinn wheezes out through her laughter. She sits up and wipes away the tears that formed in her eyes during her laughing fit.

"You're a good actress" Rachel says, sitting up along with her "Have you thought about pursuing acting?"

Quinn shakes her head "No, all I've ever wanted to do the moment I picked up my first guitar is create music"

Rachel nods and gets up from the floor. Quinn's eyes follow the movement of Rachel's hands as she dusts dirt off of her bum. Quinn blushes, feeling like Puck as she stares at the perfectly shaped rear-end in front of her.

"Shall we get on with the song then?" Rachel asks, holding her hand out to Quinn.

* * *

"No Rachel!" Quinn says furiously with her hands placed on her hips as she stares Rachel down. They've been this for the past ten minutes. Every idea each one of them has had, the other shoots down. Granted, a few where stupid-like the one Rachel's just said.

"Why not?" Rachel asks with a glare of her own.

"We can't fit an _orchestra_ in this auditorium! It's too small! And costly!"

"If this were Carmel than they could fit it in and pay for it!"

"Well it's not! Sectionals is being held at McKinley this year, there is no room for them and Figgins is a tight ass and won't dip into the school funds for us!"

Rachel throws her hands up into the air and stamps her foot "First you wouldn't let me have builders re-model the auditorium for better acoustics, then you said no to having trapeze artists behind me and now this! I can't win with you!"

"Rachel, all of those ideas are ridiculous! First of all, it has nothing to do with what you asked me here today for-helping you with the music for your song-and secondly, we don't even know if you'll get the solo or even if this song is going to be used!"

"You don't think it's good enough?" Rachel asks, looking up at Quinn with a hurt look on her face.

Quinn's anger deflates within her. She scratches her head and walks closer to Rachel, grabbing the sheet of lyrics along the way. "From the bits I've read, they're good enough Rach" she smiles "But that doesn't mean that the rest of them will pick it"

"I just-Vocal Adrenaline always had crazy dance moves going on and-" She stops when Quinn's hand rests gently on her knee.

"New Directions are different to VA. We don't rely on crazy aesthetics, costumes or dance moves to get us through-you've seen Finn dance right? He has two left feet" Rachel laughs, nodding her head "We rely on our voices. And you, Rach, have one of the strongest and beautiful voices I've ever heard. We could probably win Sectionals with your voice alone"

Rachel blushes and looks down at her hands "No one's ever told me that" Quinn's eyebrows quirk in disbelief "Apart from my Dad's, but they're my Dad's, they can't tell me I don't have a good voice. It's equivalent to them calling me beautiful only because they can't call me ugly"

"You must know you have a good-amazing voice Rachel, otherwise you wouldn't be front man of Vocal Adrenaline. And you are beautiful. So beautiful" Quinn tucks a strand of hair that's fallen in front of Rachel's face behind her ear.

Rachel shrugs and looks down at her hands "I guess" she mutters, not really believing it.

Quinn sighs and hoists herself up onto her feet, her hand pressing down onto the keyboard keys. She pauses and looks down at the ivory keys. She gently presses down one of them, a low note sounding from the sleek instrument.

"I have an idea for the music" Quinn says, getting Rachel to shuffle up the piano bench. She sits down next to her and places her fingers against the smooth keys. She takes a deep breath, thinking up a tune for the intro.

"You can play piano?"

"My Dad made me compromise that if I wish to learn guitar, I had to learn Piano up until high school as well" Quinn replies without opening her eyes "Now shush" she says.

Rachel bites on her lip, watching as Quinn tries out many chords across the piano. The blonde shakes her head, her eyebrows furrowing together when she doesn't like a chord and moves on until the next. Rachel watches her mesmerized, wondering how Quinn becomes so easily focused and if what she's witnessing right now is Quinn's talents coming into play.

Quinn hesitantly plays the chord her right hand is currently hovering over. She bites her lip and tries putting a little rhythm into it. She tilts her head to the side, re-playing the chords in the same way. A small smile creeps up onto her face and does it again, this time automatically moving onto a new chord and playing a different rhythm with that one. She nods at Rachel, telling her to begin singing the first verse.

With slight hesitance, Rachel does so, her voice coming out flawlessly. She figures out the melody pretty quickly, and matches it with the harmony Quinn is making. As she gets to the last word, she smiles brightly at Quinn.

"Was-Did we just...?"

"That, Rachel Berry" Quinn says, rubbing her hands together "Was the beginning of your song"

* * *

Quinn whistles merrily as she strolls up the pathway to her home. Rachel and her had been working on the song every day since Monday lunch, putting more and more into it. And not to toot her own horn, it's a pretty good song.

But she can't help but wonder who it's about. There's some part of her, a very big part that is wishing it's about her. But, despite everything that's happened between them, she knows it's probably not. It's probably about Finn and their struggles as a couple.

Quinn has noticed Finn being over to Rachel's more and more recently. They argue a lot, that much Quinn can tell, but the next day Finn will come back over with flowers or some of Rachel's favourite vegan ice cream and Quinn will see them lying on Rachel's bed, watching Barbra Streisand movie after Barbra Streisand movie. It hurts. It hurts a lot.

Though, Quinn can only blame herself. The most she has done to show Rachel how much she loves her is by agreeing to help her with the song, nothing else. She really needs to begin to do what she promised she would.

That's when Quinn pauses in her stride, a light bulb going off in her head. A smile pulls up on her face when she begins to make a plan for the idea swimming around her mind.

She jogs up the rest of the driveway and runs into the house, saying a quick hello to Judy before speeding up to her room. She turns on her laptop and begins to frantically search. Click after click after click and she's still looking.

After going through about twenty links google has shown her, Quinn leans back in her chair and sighs. She spins round to face her desk and scratches out the idea she wrote down. There is absolutely no where in Lima where she can do what she was planning on doing.

She turns her head to look out the window, smiling when she spots Rachel twirling round her room, singing into her hairbrush. She watches the dramatic, comedic actions Rachel does as she acts out the lyrics. It's times like those when Quinn wishes Rachel didn't have a sound proofed room and her window closed. She's unable to hear Rachel sing on her own, not worrying about a performance or being the best, just singing.

Rachel notices and promptly stops her dancing, blushing furiously and dropping her hairbrush. Quinn laughs when Rachel spins round so her back is facing Quinn and runs a hand through her hair. Her shoulders move up then down before Rachel spins back around and smiles and waves at Quinn, as if nothing had happened. Quinn shakes at her and rotates her index finger by her temple, causing Rachel to pout and probably stomp her foot.

Quinn fishes her phone out of her pocket and dials the brunette's number, watching her with a smirk. Rachel holds a finger up at her and grabs her phone.

"_Hello?"_

"You just stomped your foot didn't you?" Quinn asks in a way of greeting. She watches as Rachel gasps in shock and blushes.

"_I did not!"_

Quinn chuckles, watching as Rachel's body shifts slightly as she pouts at Quinn across the way "You just did it again"

Rachel purses her lips, narrowing her eyes at Quinn "I did" she admits. "How did you know?"

Quinn moves away from the window towards her laptop. She double takes a look at the screen, spotting a link she has yet to click on. "We've lived opposite each other for eleven years Rach, I notice all of your mannerisms" She says whilst scrolling through the page. She smiles brightly, happiness filling her as she realises she can go through her plan.

"Such as?"

Quinn closes her laptop and grabs her coat. "That you have six different smiles" Quinn says as she runs down the stairs.

"And what six are they?" Rachel asks, becoming intrigued with what Quinn is saying.

Quinn grabs her purse and keys "One when something really makes you laugh" She tugs on her shoes "One when you're making plans. I know that one very well" Quinn smiles when she hears Rachel laugh down the phone. She juggles her phone between her shoulder and ear before jumping up.

"Quinnie" Judy says, walking out of the living room "Where are you going?"

"Out" Quinn says in reply. She brushes past Judy and walks out the door "You have one for when you are laughing out of politeness"

"Quinn, where are you going?" Rachel asks unknowingly copying Judy's words from before.

Quinn throws her purse into her car "Then there's the one that you have when you're making fun of yourself" She slams her car door shut and begins to walk round to the Berry's "One when you are uncomfortable" She knocks on the Berry's door.

"Hold on Quinn someone's at my door"

Quinn chuckles, listening as doors open and close through the phone. Soon the front door opens, revealing Rachel looking out with a smile on her face. Her phone is still held to her ear as she stares at Quinn with surprise.

"And one" Quinn breathes "When you are talking about your dreams of being a star" Quinn disconnects the call "And that's my favourite one of all"

"W-What are you doing here?" Rachel asks, moving her phone from her ear.

Quinn just smiles "Get your coat"

"Why?" Rachel asks as she grabs her coat and shoes.

"I'm taking you out"

"Where?"

"You're asking a lot of questions Berry" Quinn says as they begin to walk towards Quinn's car.

"You're not giving me a lot of answers Fabray" Rachel replies, standing on the passenger's side of the car.

Quinn laughs, resting her arms on the hood of the car "Just get in the car" She says, smiling at the brunette.

Rachel narrows her eyes at Quinn, before slowly slipping into the seat. Quinn smirks and also gets in before driving away from their houses. They both stay silent, only the sound of the car engine being heard inside the car.

Not being able to take any of the silence anymore, Quinn reaches over to Rachel's side and opens up the glove box, slapping her hand around the insides before revealing her iPod. She hands it to Rachel.

"Here, plug it in a pick a song" She says, glancing towards the brunette. Rachel only stares at her.

They come to a stop at a red light and Rachel still has yet to move. Quinn looks over at her in concern, her eyebrow furrowing together in confusion.

"Everything alright?"

"You're letting me have control over the music?"

"Yeah" Quinn says as if it's the most normal thing in the world. The light turns green and she begins to drive once again. She double takes at Rachel's astonished expression "Is that-Is that a bad thing?" she asks, note exactly knowing what Rachel is so surprised at.

"No" Rachel says quickly "No, it's just-Finn never lets me have control of the radio or the music when he takes me out on dates"

Quinn hums, her hands tightening round the steering wheel at Finn's name "Well, I'm allowing you. There's no chance of finding any broadway on there though"

"My musical taste does range further than Broadway, you know" Rachel huffs.

Quinn smirks "I know. I remember what you said in the cabin and how you proved me wrong by singing-"

"Uncle Kracker!" Rachel says "You have the song on here?!"

"Yeah, when we came back I downloaded it. I couldn't get it out of my head"

"It is catchy" Rachel says as she presses play, starting to hum along to the song.

Quinn laughs as Rachel begins to get into the song once again. She can't help but sing along to her as the girl literally screams happiness as she sings. A few cars honk their horns at them as Quinn became so into the singing, she didn't see the second set of traffic lights turn green.

Both she and Rachel laugh together as they pull up to Quinn's destination. Rachel gasps in surprise, looking at the many cars parked around them, facing the white sheet pinned up on the brick wall in front of them. Quinn gets out of her car and walks to Rachel's side, holding the door open for her.

Rachel steps out, looking around in awe. It's set out to look like a 1950's drive in theatre, complete with a 1950's looking concession stand. Quinn jumps up onto the hood of her car, holding her hand out to Rachel. Rachel takes it, allowing Quinn to pull her up onto the hood.

"Where are we?" Rachel asks.

"In a drive in theatre silly, just on the outskirts of Lima. It's 60's night and they're showing a film I know you'll love tongight" Quinn slips off the hood "Popcorn?" She asks.

"Yes please" Rachel replies. She watches Quinn walk over to the concession stand with a smile on her face "No butter!" She calls out.

Quinn turns round, walking backwards with a smile on her face "I know" she calls back before turning back around and joining the que.

Rachel peers around her, seeing that most the people here seem to be couples. Couples that obviously didn't come here to see a film, but for other, promiscuous intentions. She looks over at Quinn and nervously bites her lip. Quinn knows they're just friends right? She's not expecting anything of Rachel tonight is she?

But then she sees Quinn waddling her way over to Rachel, her arms full of confectionary. Popcorn is tucked under one arm, a large soda under the other whilst bags of Jolly Ranchers, life savers, boxes of nerds and some chocolate juggling about in the middle of her arms. Rachel laughs at the sight of a blonde head bopping about and a bright smile.

"I don't think you got enough" Rachel says once Quinn is close enough to hear. Rachel helps deposit the confectionary down safely before scooting up and patting the hood beside her.

"I don't think I did" Quinn jumps up onto the hood of the car and sits herself down, stretching her long legs out in front of her. "I wasn't sure if you'll able to eat all of those" Quinn says, gesturing to the candy. "So I found these" Quinn says, grabbing the chocolate and handing it to Rachel "It's vegan chocolate. I'm surprised they sold it here actually."

Rachel feels a lump form in her throat at how thoughtful Quinn was being for her. Finn never once thought about her diet, always taking her to Breadstixs even though the only thing she could eat was their crappy salad. Seriously, their lettuce tasted of rubber.

"That's very kind of you Quinn, thank you. But luckily, I do put aside my preferred diet when it comes to candy because, come on, it's candy" Rachel says smiling at Quinn.

Quinn beams back at her. The smile on her face is a smile Rachel is slowly starting to recognise as Quinn's Rachel's smile. Now, that may sound big headed to you, but Quinn only seams to smile like this-smile a real, happy smile-when with Rachel. It's like she reserves it just for Rachel.

"I'm glad. The films about to start" Quinn replies, throwing a piece of popcorn into her mouth.

"Oh my god!" Rachel squeal with excitement when the opening credits of 'Funny Girl' roll up onto the screen "I can't believe it! They're playing 'Funny Girl'?"

"Yes, no hush, you're going to miss it"

"Quinn, this film is like my bible. I know every line, I won't miss anything"

"That maybe so, but unfortunately this film is not my bible. I've never seen it so I'd like to hear everything" Quinn winks at Rachel with a cheeky smile then lounges back against her car, her hands tucked underneath her head.

Rachel smiles down at her fondly before copying her position, getting ready to watch her favourite film of all time.

* * *

The girls stare at Rachel's house, neither wanting the night to end. Quinn sighs, remembering how close they were to holding hands during the movie. She didn't even watch it, she watched Rachel. The brunette mouthed along to every line, softly sang every song and cried at the ending. During the whole film, their hands kept on itching towards each other, until their pinkies were brushing. But neither of them had made the move. Quinn waited for Rachel to make the move, but she never did.

"Thank you Quinn. I had a nice time tonight" Rachel says, tucking a piece of hair behind her door.

"You're welcome. Let me walk you to your door" Quinn replies as Rachel begins to get out. She joins Rachel up the path towards her driveway, her hand swinging by her side, desperately wanting to grab hold of Rachel's.

"How much do I owe you?" Rachel asks, stopping at her door step. She looks down at Quinn, due to the height the door step has given her.

Quinn shakes her head "Nothing. Consider this my treat" Quinn smiles.

"Quinn...you can't do that" Rachel says, her voice low as she keeps her tone hushed.

"Why not?"

"Because I'm with Finn"

"What's me paying for your ticket got to do with your relationship? We were just two friends hanging out today"

Rachel levels Quinn with a looks. Quinn frowns slightly, knowing that Rachel has seen through her obvious lie. "You and I know that if you pay then this is a..."

"A what?" Quinn asks, stepping closer to Rachel, tilting her head up to see her better.

"Don't make me say it" Rachel pleads, feeling herself lean down towards Quinn as the blonde begins to move closer to her.

"Say what?"

"A date"

"What if it is?"

Rachel moves back. She shakes her head, looking down at her feet "It can't be, I'm with Finn. I go on dates with Finn where he-where he pays for me, he's really sweet towards me, he picks my favourite film even though he doesn't like it, he lets me pick a song in his car. He walks me to my door and kisses me goodnight"

"But does he do any of that stuff?" Quinn tilts her head, challenging Rachel.

"No but-" Rachel stops talking when her front door opens.

"Where have you been?" The stern voice of Hiram sounds from behind her.

Rachel turns round, going to speak when Quinn beats her to it "Sorry Hiram, that was my fault. I took Rachel out and didn't really give her time to say no let alone leave you a note"

Hiram nods, his gaze moving to Rachel "There's a guest waiting for you in your room" Rachel nods and walks past him, disappearing from Quinn's sight. Hiram turns back to Quinn, a smile now covering his face "Thank you"

"For what?"

"For putting a smile on her face. I watched you two walk up and she had this huge smile, a smile I haven't seen in a long time"

"You're welcome. Good night Hiram" Quinn says, Hiram repeats the phrase to her and she begins to walks round to her home. "Oh Hiram!" She calls out, causing the man to pause in closing the door "When's Rachel's next appointment with her psychiatrist?"

"The day after Sectionals"

"Don't worry about driving her there. I'll do it"

Hiram smiles gratefully at her "Good night Quinn" He says before shutting the door.

Quinn smiles to herself, thinking that her plan is now a success.

* * *

Rachel walks into her room, falting when she spots Puck sitting on her bed, patiently waiting for her. He merely raises his eyebrow at her and folds his arms across his chest, silently asking for an explanation.

"I went out" Rachel says as a reply, moving into her bathroom to get washed.

"I know. Who with and where?" Puck asks from the bed.

"What are you, my Dads?" Rachel says as she walks back in.

"No. But I'm your friend and when your Dad rang me up, asking if I was with you, I got worried and came over. Now, where were you?" Puck says, turning to Rachel with a serious glare.

"I was with Quinn. She was-she was so wonderful Noah" Rachel gushes, sitting down on the bed next to him. "She let me pick a song. Let me. Not even you do that. She took me to this drive in cinema where they played Funny Girl"

"So she took you out on a date?"

"What? No. It wasn't a date, it was two friends hanging out" Rachel says unconvincingly. Puck picks up on the way she blushes and looks anywhere but his eyes. She's lying.

"Oh right, so you split the pay?"

"Not exactly. She wouldn't let me"

"Okay so you're going to break it off with Finn right? Seeing as Quinn was so wonderful to you"

Rachel's eyes widen at what Puck is saying. Puck watches as fear passes through her eyes for a moment and he sighs, knowing exactly where Rachel is going to take this conversation.

"No. Finn is my boyfriend and he loves me so-"

"So does Quinn! You've obviously enjoyed spending time with her today. You were smiling so brightly as you spoke about it Rach, brighter than I've ever seen you smile"

"You're exaggerating"

"No I'm not." Puck says in a serious tone "You are in love with Quinn and you need to tell her. I know Quinn, once she wants something, she'll go for it. But if that thing-or someone-keeps pushing her away" Rachel looks up at Puck with vulnerable eyes "She's going to stop coming back and before you know it, you've lost her. She loves you, she wants to be with you"

"She thinks she loves me but she doesn't. How can she?" Rachel mumbles, looking down at her hands.

"I don't understand why it's so hard for you to believe that Quinn loves you! You're kind, considerate, talented and beautiful. How can she not love you? It's so painfully obvious with the way she looks at you, the way she smiles just for you. You believed Finn pretty quickly when he told you he loves you, so why not Quinn?"

"Because Finn is a boy and because he didn't spend ten years of our lives calling me names!"

Puck stands up and throws his hands up in the air in annoyance. "She only did that because you hurt her first! I know it's a crappy excuse but that is why! Quinn is bad with telling people how she feels, she hides behind shells and walls, putting up this fake front that she doesn't care but she did and does care. You are so lucky that Quinn told you she loves you Rach because people like Quinn only say things as emotional like that when they mean it. Why does Finn being a boy have anything to do with it?"

"Because boys love and want to shag anything that moves"

"Hey!" Puck says, pointing a finger at Rachel "I maybe like that, but Finn is not. He really loves you Rach okay? But Quinn loves you more and you love her, so just be with her"

"I can't"

"Why? Because of your Dads?" When Rachel doesn't answer, Puck just nods, scoffing in disbelief "You're using that excuse again huh? Your Dads will be fine Rachel. Quinn and I will never let anyone say anything bad about them or you and get away with it. Russell would probably sue whoever says anything remotely derogatory against them and they have the ACLU behind them. They're grown men, they can fight their own battles. They would hate it if they knew you were keeping yourself from being truly happy to keep them safe"

"Can you leave now?" Rachel asks, looking up at Puck with teary eyes. "Please?"

Puck only shakes his head and leaves the door shutting closed behind him.

Rachel looks out her window, seeing Quinn standing with her back to her own window. She watches as pale, slender hands begin to lift up the shirt Quinn was wearing. As it moves higher, Quinn turns her body around, revealing defined, smooth abs to Rachel. Rachel stares at them hungrily, not noticing the garment fall from Quinn's hands.

She darts her eyes up, blushing when she notices Quinn's eyes staring at her, a smirk on the blonde's lips. Quinn simply lifts her hand up at Rachel, waving whilst closing her curtains.

Rachel sighs heavily and lies back on her bed. What is she doing?

* * *

"Why is the band here?" Rachel asks as she walks onto the stage towards Quinn who's sitting down at the piano.

"I invited them here. I think it's time for you to practise this with a full band"

"When did you put together other parts?" Rachel places her sheet music down onto the top of the piano, leaning forward and looking at Quinn.

"Last night, after you finished ogling me" Quinn says with a sly smirk.

" I wasn't-I wasn't ogling" Rachel mumbles, shifting her papers about.

Quinn laughs "Right"

"I wasn't! I just so happened to be looking over you were undressing"

Quinn smiles at Rachel, biting her lip to keep back laughter and clears her throat "Anyway. Should we get on with this?"

"Yes please"

Quinn nods and begins to play the music, her fingers playing out the familiar rhythm. Just as Rachel opens her mouth to sing, Quinn jumps in, taking the first few lines of the verse instead. Rachel closes her mouth and looks at Quinn quizzically for a moment. Quinn only smiles at her and finishes singing. Rachel quickly jumps in, taking the rest of the verse.

The band soon join into the song and Quinn and Rachel flow into a singing dynamic, both smoothly taking lines after one another before coming together at the verse. Quinn watches as Rachel comes out of her shell and begins to move around the piano, spinning and dancing to the song. She sees the dramatic side of Rachel come out and it makes her smile. Could she love this girl anymore?

As soon as they finish, the band begin to pack up, leaving the two, panting girls alone. Rachel is stood beside Quinn, looking down at the blonde with excited eyes. Her chest heaves as she regains the breath she lost during their impromptu performance. Quinn matches Rachel's look, her chest also heaving.

"We should make this a duet" Rachel finally breathes out.

Quinn nods, shuffling on the piano bench "I'm sure we can fit time for Finn to learn the words, maybe even have Brittany teach you guys some choreography to go with it all before Sectionals"

Rachel shakes her head "No no, I meant you and me"

Quinn blanches "What?"

Rachel sits down next to Quinn, a great big smile on her face "You and I. Singing the song together at Sectionals"

"Are you sure? I mean you wrote this for Finn right? Shouldn't you be singing it with him?"

Rachel opens her mouth, going to correct Quinn on her assumption, but feels it maybe too soon and so stops herself. "I-It doesn't matter if I should, it's if I want to. And I _want_ to sing it with _you_, so, will you?"

Quinn stares into Rachel's puppy dog eyes, pleading for her to say yes. Her adorableness melts her heart and she laughs, shaking her head "Fine, okay. I'll sing with you"

"Yay!" Rachel claps excitedly then pulls Quinn into a hug.

Quinn pauses momentarily, shocked that Rachel is hugging her. But she relaxes and wraps her arms around the petite girls waist, basking in her warmth.

"We should be getting to Glee" Rachel says as they pulls away, keeping her hands locked around Quinn's neck.

"Okay"

* * *

"I refuse to stand in the background and fucking sway whilst the t-rex over there sings about how his dancing ain't all that good!" Santana shouts as Rachel and Quinn walk through the door.

Quinn spots Mr Schue watching the exchange with a frown on his face, looking very tired and angry. According to Artie, everyone has been arguing in Glee whilst Rachel and Quinn have been practising. None of them have created a song they all agree on.

"Oh what like your song about Sam's lips is ten times better!" Finn shouts back from his place in the middle of the choir room.

"You bet your puff pastry nipples it is!"

Quinn walks over to Ramona who smiles at her in an exasperated way "What's going on?" She whispers.

"Finn and Santana are fighting over the group number, again." She replies with a roll of her eyes.

"What has Mr Schue done with the situation?"

"Nothing, like always. Finn is his golden boy remember" Ramona laughs with Quinn, both continuing to watch Finn and Santana argue. "Where have you and Rachel been for the past few days?"

Quinn bites her lip nervously when Rachel steps between Finn and Santana, trying to get Finn to back away "Working on a song Rachel wrote"

"A solo for her?"

"No, a duet"

"For her and Finn?"

"No" Quinn mutter distractedly before walking over to Finn and Santana. She gently moves Rachel out of the way and places her hand on Finn's chest, pushing him further back from Santana.

"You both need to calm down" She says. Almost immediately both Finn and Santana's anger evaporates. Santana walks over to Brittany whilst Finn walks over to Rachel, placing a kiss on her cheek in greeting.

"Thank you Quinn" Mr Schue says, gesturing for her to take a seat "Guys we have two days until Sectionals and we have yet to have any songs to perform. We need to stick our head together and-yes Rachel?"

"Mr Schue, whilst I'm all of you have been trying to come up with something, Quinn and I have made up a whole song together and have even decided to sing it as a duet together-of course, only if you'll all agree"

"I think they should" Mr Schue says before anyone can disagree, surprising Rachel and Quinn "They are the only two in this room who spent more time writing than arguing. They took this seriously and made a song. We'll be using Quinn and Rachel for the duet. Now, because of how short we are on time, we're going to have to cover a song"

"Please anything but Journey, Mr Schue" Tina says "We did so much of that last year"

"Don't you guys worry" Mr Schue says with a smile "I have the perfect song"

Quinn looks over at Rachel, raising and eyebrow at her. They're both thinking the same thing.

How perfect is this song going to be?

* * *

**There's the chapter guys! I hope you enjoyed it.**

**The song the girls made will be introduced in the next chapter.**

**Thank you for reading!**

**Here's the link to the trailer: (****.)com(/)watch?v=QMGQebQ-gxU**

******It's on youtube so just type youtube in before the .com :D**

**xx**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello my good readers! Yes, you are correct, I am updating early! The reason being that next week is going to be really hectic for me College wise due to all of my graphics work being due in so I will be busy with that.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter. The song(s) are revealed in this chapter I promise you.**

**Quick question: At the end, could you tell me either through tumblr, a review or a pm if you like having the lyrics set out how they are, or don't like it, or think I shouldn't even have the lyrics put into the story. It would be very helpful for me in future chapters if you could do so. Or even suggest how you would like it done.**

**Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

"No no, we're going to have to run through it again guys"

"Mr Schue" Quinn sighs "It's 6 o'clock and I'm hungry, can we please stop rehearsing now?"

"I agree with Quinn, I'm starving" Puck says from behind her.

"You're always hungry" Rachel says with a smile, earning a shrug from Puck.

"Guys I'm sorry but we need to practise this until it's perfect. There's something not right though" Mr Schue says, his eyes run up and down the line of students. His eyes move over Finn, Rachel, Quinn, Ramona, Santana, Brittany and Mike and Tina, but he can't see anything wrong. The arrangement they have, seems off.

"Finn, Rachel sing together please?"

Rachel rolls her eyes and sings the line, trying hard not to wince when Finn's voice cracks. She watches as Mr Schue frowns, having picked up the crack in Finn's voice. He shakes his head and looks at Santana.

"Santana, can you sing Finn's part with Rachel please?"

Santana does so and once again, Mr Schue frowns. He shakes his head and turns to Quinn, asking her to do so. Quinn looks at Rachel as they sing together, raising an eyebrow at her.

Rachel watches as a smile grows on Mr Schue's face "That's it. Quinn, Rachel, you'll be singing together in the song instead of Finn and Rachel"

"What?" Finn says "Why?"

"It sounds better"

"But they're already doing a duet together!"

"Oh shut your man child mouth Frankenteen" Santana scoffs from further down the line "You and Quinn had a duet last year and took the two leads in the group number so stop complaining!"

Rachel shakes her head, rubbing a soothing hand up and down Finn's arm. He huffs in annoyance, but doesn't stay mad. Rachel mindlessly goes through the performance with the rest of them once again, not really paying attention to what she's doing, instead, she's watching Quinn. The blonde keeps her eyes forward, like she's looking at the crowd, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration as she hits the notes.

When it gets to Rachel's go, she doesn't move her eyes from the blonde. She can tell by the way Quinn is awkwardly shuffling about that Quinn can feel her gaze on her, but yet still refuses to look her way. When Quinn chances a glance over at Rachel, Rachel figures out why Quinn was avoiding looking at her. The blonde immediately began to smile, her voice wavering slightly as she chuckles to herself.

"Okay guys I'm calling it a night. Go and have some food and be here bright and early tomorrow for Sectionals!"

"I'm going to breadstix, who's coming with me?" Santana asks, grabbing hold of Brittany's hand once Mr Schue walks out of the auditorium.

"I will" Ramona says "I really fancy their lasagne tonight"

"We'll go" Artie says, Quinn nodding from behind him.

Tina, Mike and Puck also agree. Sam reluctantly declines, having to babysit his siblings. Rory and Sugar refuse, wanting to go somewhere on their own and Joe just shakes his head, going on about some Jesus thing before walking out.

Rachel looks up at Finn, noticing his questioning look. She shrugs, not really caring and Finn beams at her.

"Rach and me-"

"Rach and I" Rachel quickly corrects.

"What? Oh, what she said, will go" Finn says, momentarily confused by what Rachel had said.

Santana rolls her eyes "Fucking great." She walks down the stairs with Brittany, Artie and Quinn in toe "Come on losers I need my stixs!" She calls out over her shoulder when no one else moves.

* * *

Rachel watches as Quinn gleefully messes about with her friends, throwing straws at each other, laughing when it gets tangled in the girls hair or stuck between Artie's glasses. It's nice to see Quinn interact with her friends in such a care free manner.

That's something Rachel's always been envious of Quinn. How the people in the clubs she attends-Soccer and Glee-are her friends outside of the clubs. They would happily interact with Quinn in the McKinley hallways or within the shopping mall. The same isn't said for Rachel. Yeah, she has 'friends' in Soccer and Vocal Adrenaline, but they won't hang out with her outside of the club. VA have a silent rule to stick together throughout the school year, so Rachel always feels like they feel obligated to hang out with her, not because they want to.

Apart from Kurt and Mercedes. Even though they may constantly fight Rachel for the solos and never get them, they still gladly hang out with Rachel outside of VA. They take her to the mall, to the cinema, chat with her in the hallways. She likes to think of them-aside from Noah-as her best friends.

Another one was Jessie St. James, Rachel's former male counter-part who was a year older than her. He left for UCLA this year, leaving Rachel with the spotlight in VA-well, an even bigger spotlight. At first, he tried to get in her pants and swipe her v-card, but after many refusals from the brunette, the curly haired, smooth talking boy just gave up with Rachel and instead became a good friend to her.

Everyone else just seemed to tolerate Rachel. It hurt really. It wasn't her fault that Dustin Goolsby wanting her as lead with Jesse, they just weren't good enough.

"Babe"

Rachel blinks, noticing everyone is watching her. She notices a waitress paitently waiting by the side of the table and looks over to Finn. Finn raises his eyebrow at her.

"What are you ordering?" He asks, holding out the menu to her.

Without looking at it, Rachel turns to the waitress and smiles at her kindly "I'll have a salad please. No dressing"

The waitress nods and looks to Puck, taking his order of burger and fried then to Quinn. Rachel feels her stomach tigthen at they way the waitress seems to smile a little bit more at Quinn than the others. But Quinn doesn't seem to notice, her eyes flicking between the menu and Rachel.

"I'll have what she's having" Quinn says, holding her menu up to the waitress, smiling at her.

"I thought you were starving" Puck says.

Quinn shurgs "I guess I've lost my appetite"

Rachel smiles to herself when Quinn winks her way and watches as Santana literally climbs over Ramona to whisper something in Quinn's ear, causing the blonde to blush furiously. Quinn glances over at Rachel once again, this time, a shy smile on her lips.

Artie and Quinn continue to throw straws at each other, laughing as they do whilst they wait for the food to arrive. Finn talks to Puck over Rachel's head about the new shooting game he recently got. Rachel can't even remember the name of it-things like that don't interest her at all.

She locks eyes at Quinn, who's lips quirck up in the tiniest of smiles. She smiles back, her eyes darting away momentarily before moving back to Quinn, blushing when she notices the blonde is still looking at her. Her breath hitches when she sees Quinn lick her lips, her eyes focused on Rachel's own.

Rachel pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, holding back a smile when Quinn's eyes darken slightly. They're broken out of their staring contest when the waitress arrives back with their food. She hands Quinn and Rachel their salads, a note slipping onto Quinn's plate. Rachel's eyes narrow at the note, then up at the waitress who just continues to deposite everyone's food.

Rachel looks back at the note, noticing how Quinn picks up the note and reads it. Her eyes looks up at the waitress who looks back at Quinn as she puts Finn's burger down. Quinn smiles at her, watching as she walks away.

"Looks like someone wants you Quinn" Santana says, though she stares at Rachel as she says it "Better get in there before she gets taken"

Quinn shakes her head, her hand closing round the note, scrunching up the paper "I'm not interested"

Santana rolls her eyes and digs into her breadsticks, happily munching on them.

Brown eyes focus on yearning hazel as they stare at the burger Finn's digging into. Rachel looks at her boyfriend and scrunches up her nose as fat oozes out of the patty, ketchup dripping onto his shirt. Rachel pushes the plastic lettuce leaves around her plate, not bringing herself to even put it in her mouth.

Finn notices her lack of eating "Don't you like it?" He asks, wiping at the ketchup on his chin.

Rachel nods "I do" her stomach growled angrily at her.

"Why didn't you order something else?"

"I can't eat anything here Finn. I'm a vegan remember?"

"That's a real thing?" He asks in disbelief "I always thought you were joking"

"Yes it's a real thing!" Rachel says incrediously. She notices they've now gained the attention of everyone else at the table.

"So when you said on our date the other night that I made the tastiest vegan substitute for meat pasta you really meant vegan?"

"Yes, what else?"

"I always thought it was joke so I used real meat"

Everyone at the table gasps, apart from Santana who just laughs and says "What a fucking idiot"

"You what?!" Rachel shouts "The-the meat was real"

"Yeah, like I said, I didn't think it was a real thing y'know" Finn shurgs, a helpless expression on his face.

"Dude, you are so fucking retarded" Puck mutters.

"It's no big deal right? I made a mistake we can get past this" Finn asks worridly when Rachel becomes really quiet.

Rachel stares at her plate, thinking about how considerate Quinn was of her diet when they went out, she even went as far as getting vegan friendly chocolate. But Finn, her boyfriend, fed her real meat, making her believe it was real meat.

She silently stands up at the table, keeping her eyes on her shoes. "Excuse me" She quietly says, turning to get out.

Finn doesn't move "Rach, babe, I'm sorry"

"Excuse me" Rachel says again.

Realising Rachel isn't going to let him explain, Finn moves out of the booth, allowing Rachel to leave.

Rachel keeps her head low, walking straight out of the restraunt. She moves to the side of the building and leans against the wall, tilting her head back and releasing a sigh of air. She doesn't knwo what's happening. She's beggining to notice all these...flaws that Finn has. Flaws that she noticed before, but just brushed off to him being Finn. Not him being inconsiderate or sloppy or lazy. Just being Finn.

But ever since Quinn made that promise to her, and became such a lovely person, the person she knew Quinn is and envied her for it...she can't help but compare the two. But instead of seeing Finn-her_ boyfriend_-in a better light, it's Quinn. Quinn's the one with the halo shining above her head and Finn's got the devil horns.

He fed her meat. _Meat._

She just can't believe it.

"You okay?"

Rachel opens her eyes, coming face to face with Quinn. She smiles weakly "Yeah, just...shocked really"

Quinn nods and licks her lips, her eyes flicking to the door to breadstixs "I don't know about you" she says, turning to look back at Rachel "But that salad was so awful I couldn't eat it"

Rachel laughs "I told you"

Quinn smiles at her "How about, we go back to mine and I can make us some grilled cheese. Vegan for you, of course"

"I'd like that"

Quinn holds her arm out to Rachel "Madame?"

Rachel laughs and loops her arm through Quinn's "Thank you kind sir" She says as Quinn leads her back to her car.

* * *

Quinn noisily licks her fingers clean, her feet bouncing against the bar on the kitchen stool. Rachel shakes her head at her, finsihing the last of he grilled cheese and wiping her fingers clean with a napkin. She pointedly wipes each finger at Quinn and raises her eyebrow at her.

Quinn blushes adorably and slides down from the stool, grabbing hers and Rachel's plate. The front door opens, the happy laughter of Judy and Russell filling up the home. Rachel quickly stands and brushes her hands over her skirt, causing Quinn to also laugh.

"Rachel!" Judy sings "How nice to see you dear, and in the same room as my daughter!" Judy laughs and pulls Rachel into a hug, kissing the top of her head. Rachel giggles and pulls away from Judy.

"Do my eyes decieve me or are you two not fighting?" Russell asks, walking over to Quinn and placing a kiss on her head.

"We haven't been fighting for some time Dad" Quinn huffs out, placing the now clean plates onto the drying rack.

"Have you eaten yet?" Judy asks Rachel, rapidly tying an apron round her waist.

"I have thank you Judy" Rachel says "Quinn made me a vegan girrled cheese. I was surprised that you have vegan ingrediants here"

"Of course we would sweetheart" Russell says with a smile "We keep them here just in cade we have you and your Dad's round for dinner. Oh that reminds me" Russell turns to Rachel "You and your farthers are invited round the day after Sectionals to celebrate your win"

"We don't know if we'll win" Quinn says with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh you will. Now, you two go rush upstairs and play whilst your mother and I clean everything else up"

"We're not kids anymore" Quinn smiles at her Dad.

"No matter if you're eighteen or eighty Quinnie, you will always be my kid to me" He says with a loving pat on the head before shooing the girls out of the room.

Rachel follows Quinn up to her room, suddenly realising she's never actually been in Quinn's room before. She smiles when she spies the band posters up around the room and the blue bed sheets. The same blue bed sheets Quinn had on when she brought home that loud red head a few months ago. Jealousy boils within Rachel as she remembers it, wishing it was her and Quinn on the bed together instead of the slutty red head.

Quinn sits down on the bed sheets, pulling Rachel out of her jealous rage "So, what do you want to do?" Quinn asks, leaning back on the bed.

Rachel peers round, her eyes lighting up when she sees a familiar game box resting on Quinn's shelf. She walks over and reaches up, huffing in annoyance when her fingers just brush air. She tries again, this time on her tiptoes and still comes up short, her fingers brushing the box.

She slowly drops back to her feet when she feels a presence behind her. The smell of Quinn's vanilla perfume surrounds her as a pale arm reaches up and grabs the box from the shelf. A laugh is breathed into her ear, sending shivers all down Rachel's spine.

"You need to grow more" Quinn says in amusement, moving to sit down on the floor.

Rachel shakes her head and walks over to the blonde, copying her position on the floor "You need to lower your shelves"

"Why?" Quinn asks, titling her head to the side as she un-packs the game "They're at the perfect height for me"

"Not for me"

Quinn smiles at Rachel "Are you planning on staying here more often or something?" She teases.

Rachel blushes and clears her throat "Just get on with the game, Fabray"

* * *

Quinn leans against her door way, Rachel standing on the other side, shifting side to side, looking like she doesn't know what to do. Quinn smiles, finding the brunette unbelievably cute all wrapped up in her coat and scarf.

Quinn looks behind her into the house, seeing neither of her parents are hanging about before taking a step forward and pulling Rachel into a hug. She feels the brunette stiffen slightly in her arms-from what she can only assume as shock- before relaxing and sinking into the hug. Quinn tightens her arms around Rachel's waist, smiling against the smaller girls shoulder. When they break apart, Quinn doesn't hesitate in placing a kiss on Rachel's cheek.

"Good night, loser" Quinn says with a smirk.

Rachel rolls her eyes "You cheated"

"Did not"

"Yes you did" Rachel says, beggining to walk down the driveway "It was french and a faul word. Cheating!"

"Fine! We'll have another go next week then!" Quinn calls out to her, watching her walk over to her house. Rachel pauses at the gate separating their two homes and smiles.

"Game on" She calls back before jogging into her home.

Quinn laughs to herself and kicks the door shut, pausing when coming face to face with her Dad.

"Quinn"

"Dad"

"Can I have a word with you in my office" He demands. It should be a question, but with the tone he's using it's more of a command. Quinn follows him into his neat and clean office, taking a seat in the leather chair opposite his desk.

She watches as Russell walks over to his drinks cabinet and pours himself a glass of whiskey. Quinn raises her eyebrows when Russell turns round with two glasses, not one. He hands one of them to Quinn and-instead of his normal chair-he sits down in the chair next to Quinn.

Quinn brings the glass up to her mouth, taking a sip of the whiskey. As soon as the taste hits her tongue, she scrunches up her face. Russell chuckles at her expression, a kind, warm smile on his face. When Quinn goes to take another sip, Russell reaches out, placing his hand over to rim of the cup.

"You don't have to drink it if you don't like it"

Quinn nods her thanks and places it down on the desk in front of her. She turns towards his kind blue eyes looking back at her and folds her hands in her lap, patiently waiting for him to start talking.

"Quinn, you are my daughter" He looks straight at Quinn, his right hand holding onto the glass of whiskey. He looks at Quinn expecting her to answer.

"Oh. Yes I am"

"And I am your farther"

"Yes"

"So all I want in life is for you to be happy" He takes a sip of whisky.

"Okay?" Quinn looks around, not knowing exactly where he is going with this.

"Rachel makes you happy" Now she knows "I want you to promise me Quinn, that you will do eveything you can, try as hard as you can to hold onto her hand and call her yours. Promise me that when you feel like giving up, just when you've had enough of trying, feeling like you're not enough, you will not stop. I want you to be happy Quinn, Rachel makes you happy and you love her. Even when you believe that she'll never choose you, don't give up. I knwo you love her enough to take all that heart ache and pain you may be feeling and push through it"

Quinn stares at her Dad blankly, not exactly knowing how to process all of this information. How can she promise her Dad what he is asking of her. She can promise herself, because she'll easily forgive herself for giving up, but her Dad? He won't be so forgiving. He'll be dissapointed. So if Quinn promises, will she be promising him that she'll dissapoint him?

"I...uh...I don't" Quinn shakes her head. "What are you asking of me?"

Russel smiles once more and leans forward, taking hold of Quinn's hands in his own "I'm asking you to do everything in your power to be happy. And to not give up. I'm asking you to promise me that"

Quinn nods and looks into her farther's kind, blue eyes. Such hope and love shines in them, causing a lump to form in Quinn's throat. "I promise"

* * *

Rachel smiles at her reflection her fingers twitching by her sides as she does so. She refrains from scratching-a first for Rachel-and nods to herself. The white and black dress suit fits her nicely. As bad as Mr Schue is with thinking of choreography, he's not bad at choosing costume.

A knock sounds at her door and she gently invites them in.

"You ready to go baby girl?" Leroy asks, smiling as his daughter looks at her refelction with no hint of panic or hate.

"Yeah" she shakily says, turning round and walking out the door with her Daddy following.

"Nervous?" He asks as her hands her her jacket. Hiram joins them in the hallway, slipping his shoes on.

"Just a tad"

Hiram frowns, opening up their front door "That's not like you sweatheart. You're normaly confident"

Rachel smiles at her Dad, follwing her Daddy down to their car "I am confident Dad. Today is just different from the rest"

"Because you're singing with Quinn?" Leroy asks, holding open the car door for her.

Before Rachel can reply, screaming sounds through the Fabray house, out into the street. She can't hear what's being said, but from the voices, Rachel guesses Quinn and her Dad are fighting. It's weird, she never hears Quinn fight with Russell, only Judy.

"Fine!" Quinn screams, opening up their front door "Don't bother coming today, I don't want to see your stupid face there anyway!" She shouts, slammin the front door closed and charging down the driveway, her skateboard tucked under her arm.

Quinn pauses when she notices the Berry's watching her. She attempts to calm herself down and forces out a smile to them.

"Hello Leroy, Hiram. I'm sorry you had to hear that"

"No worries dear" Hiram replies, a soft smile on his face.

Quinn nods and looks at Rachel "I'll see you at the auditorium Rach" She smiles Rachel a genuine smile, not a forced one liek earlier.

"Quinn Fabray you get back here this instant!" Russell shouts from the doorway as Quinn takes off down the street.

Rachel and her Dads slip into the car and quickly pull out of the driveway, not wanting to seem like they were listening in on the argument.

* * *

Rachel paces outside of the curtains, her hands clasped tightly behind her back. She murmurs the lyrics of the song to herself repeatedly, making sure she has every single word right. She doesn't what to mess this up, especially as she's singing with Quinn.

Quinn. Just the thought of knowing Quinn is going to be sining this song with her creates butterflies in her stomach. But then there's the fact where Quinn believes it's for Finn, when it's not. How would Quinn feel knowing that it was written for Quinn. Much like the song Quinn wrote for Rachel.

"Hey"

Rachel stops her pacing and the sound of the soft voice. She looks up, smiling when she sees Quinn watching her from her spot opposite her. The blonde walks over to her and gently clasps Rachel's hands. The hands that-without Rachel even realising-had begun to scratch at each other.

"You're going to do great. Don't worry"

"I'm not worrying I'm just-"

"Nervous?" Quinn's lips quirck up in a smile, her thumb gently rubbing the back of Rachel's hand "Me too."

Rachel sighs, relieved she's not the only one nervous between the two of them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please put your hands together for McKinley Highs, New Directions!" The announcer says.

Quinn places a hand to Rachel's cheek and places a peck like last night, on her other cheek "Ready superstar?"

Rachel nods and steps back, turning towards the curtain. Quinn takes her mark and looks over at Rachel once again, she nods at the brunette and mouths 'you look beautiful'. The familiar chimes of the song play through the auditorium, cuasing Rachel's nerves to hypen.

With one last look, Quinn steps out, singing her lines.

(_Rachel_/**Quinn**/_**together**_)

'**Dreams, that's where I have to go  
To see your beautiful face anymore  
I stare at a picture of you and listen to the radio'**

Rachel takes a deep breath and pushes through the curtains, blinded momentarily by the lights shining on her. The audience turn in their seats to look at her, but Rachel keeps her eyes on Quinn.

_'Hope, hope there's a conversation  
We both admit we had it good  
But until then it's alienation, I know  
That much is understood  
And I realize'_

Quinn beams at her and they both begin to walks down towards the stage as they sing the chorus, their eyes never once leaving each other.

**'_If you ask me how I'm doing  
I would say I'm doing just fine  
I would lie and say that you're not on my mind  
But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two  
And finally I'm forced to face the truth,  
No matter what I say I'm not over you, not over you'_**

They both smile at each other before jogging up onto the stage. They are joined by the New Directions congregating on stage. Half the guys and girls with Quinn, the other half with Rachel. Rachel begins to dance, smirking at Quinn in the way they practised as Quinn sings her lines.

'**Damn, damn girl, you do it well  
And I thought you were innocent  
Took this heart and put it through hell  
But still you're magnificent'**

Mike spins Rachel out so she's a couple of feet in front of Quinn. They dance like their arguing with each other, acting out the story behind the lyrics.

_'I, I'm a boomerang, doesn't matter how you throw me  
I turn around and I'm back in the game'_

She grabs hold of Quinn's hand, pulling her around to face her. Quinn removes her hand and takes a step back. Rachel follows, continuing her lines.

_'Even better than the old me  
But I'm not even close without you'_

They turn away from each other, going back into the chorus. They smoothly dance the choreography with the New Directions, keeping on opposite sides of the stage. The dancing slows as the bridge arrives. The New Directions stop still, harmonizing in the back ground as Quinn and Rachel turn to each other, slowly walking closer as Rachel sings.

_'And if I had the chance to renew  
You know there isn't a thing I wouldn't do  
I could get back on the right track  
But only if you'd be convinced  
So until then...'_

Just as they get close to one another, the New Directions move, acting like a crowd, keeping the two girls from one another. Quinn starts to sing.

'**If you ask me how I'm doing  
I would say I'm doing just fine  
I would lie and say that you're not on my mind**

The girls begin to try and move through the New Directions, dancing past those who pretend to block them from one another, looking over shoulders at each other.

_'But I go out and I sit down at a table set for two  
And finally I'm forced to face the truth,  
No matter what I say I'm not over you'_

Rachel spins past Finn, coming to a stop as she and Quinn make it through the crowd. They both smile brightly and walk closer. Rachel looks down, as if she's acting shyly whilst Quinn walks towards her with confidence.

_'__**Not over you'**_

Rachel looks up from the ground, biting on her lip to suppress a smile. She outstretches her hand towards Quinn.

_'__Not over you'_

Quinn grabs hold of her hand as the song draws to a close.

_'**Not over you'**_

The audience cheer and clap when the lights encase Quinn and Rachel in darkness. Rachel listens as the rest of their friends move to be in position for the next song, but she and Quinn stay in the middle of the stage, holding each other's hand.

She just about makes out Quinn's eyes watching her closely. She notices they way Quinn's head begins to move closer to hers. Her breath hitches, guessing what's about to happen, but she can't allow it. Not here, in front of everyone. In front of Finn.

She knows what she has to do. These feelings running through her, the way her stomach flips every time she sees Quinn, the way her heart was pounding throughout the song. How she can't help but smile whenever Quinn speaks or sings to her. How she's always thinking about Quinn. They all tell her something. Something she's known for a long time.

She's in love with Quinn Fabray.

And it's about time she lets her know.

But not now. Not yet.

And so, Rachel pulls away from Quinn's descending head and makes her way to their places, her hand never leaving Quinn's. She gives one final squeeze before letting it go as the sound of a piano fills the auditorium and Finn steps forward to sing his line. The light shines down on him, showing him off to the audience. Rachel looks to Quinn, whom she can now see more clearly with the light shining on her face slightly.

_'Come up to meet you, tell you I'm sorry  
You don't know how lovely you are'_

Rachel's eyes follow Quinn's movement as she steps forward, taking over from Finn.

_'Running in circles, coming up tails  
Heads on a science apart'_

Rachel notices how Quinn's eyes are focused on one particular spot in the crowd. Following her gaze, Rachel notices Judy and Russell sitting next to her Farthers, all of them with big, proud smiles on their faces. Santana steps up to sing the chorus with Finn and Quinn, soulfully singing the lyrics.

Rachel flickers her eyes between Finn and Quinn, only realising how true these lyrics seem to be in their particular situation. A situation Finn is totally oblivious too.

Ramona steps forward, her arm brushing Quinn's lightly as she sings. Rachel takes note on how Ramona sends a longing glance to Quinn for a second.

_'I was just guessing at numbers and figures  
Pulling the puzzles apart'_

A light shines down on Brittany as she sweetly sings her line. Rachel smiles to herself when Brittany flashes a sweet smile to Santana.

_'Questions of science, science and progress  
Don't speak as loud as my heart'_

None of them are meant to give these looks, they were all meant to keep their heads forward, looking as if they were singing of a break up.

Mike and Tina sing next, being the only two to not look at each other and keep to the plan.

_'__And tell me you love me, come back and haunt me  
Oh and I rush to the start'_

Rachel takes a deep breath and steps forward, the light beaming down on her. She looks at Quinn for a second, shocked to find Quinn breaking choreography to look at her. Rachel notices how other than love, there's something else shining in Quinn's eyes, like she's sending Rachel a message as they sing to each other.

_'Running in circles, chasing our tails  
Coming back as we are'_

As they go back into the chorus, Rachel stops herself from laughing at how true the line she and Quinn just sang to them. They do keep on running around each other, repeating actions over and over again. Quinn is wonderful to her, Rachel runs back to Finn.

Rachel looks to Finn who's also looking at her, but he isn't smiling. He seems to be thinking, his eyes darting between Quinn and Rachel. Panic rushes through Rachel as she believes he's reading every lie she did or did not say to him. Every hidden action he didn't see before.

Rachel shakes the feeling away and belts out and takes her next line.

_'__I'm going back to the start'_

Rachel belts it out as a curtain from behind them rises, revealing the rest of the New Directions who join in on singing the chorus whilst Rachel sings her heart into the notes. The crowd cheer, applauding madly.

She thinks back to when she first saw Quinn. Running out of her home, only to stop when she sees bright hazel eyes staring at her wide eyed, a warm smile on the young Quinn's face. How she wiggled herself out of Russell's arms just to say hello to her. It makes Rachel smile.

Then she thinks back to when she first met Finn. Standing by his truck as he looks at the Fabray mansion with a conflicting expression on his face. Rachel remembers the first thing she said to him.

_"Thinking about running? Don't worry, I would too" _Rachel had smirked to herself, thinking she was extremely funny.

Finn had looked her with such a confused expression_ "__No. I just don't know if my girlfriend actually lives here"_

The feeling Rachel felt when she heard Finn say girlfriend. It was like a punch to her gut. She hated that Finn was Quinn's boyfriend that Judy and Russell couldn't stop talking about every time Rachel and her Dad's had gone round theirs for tea the past few weeks. She should have figured out then how much she really felt for the blonde.

Rachel's pulled out from her thoughts when Quinn squeezes her hand. She looks up, seeing Quinn's warm smile. They then sing the final line.

_'Nobody said it was easy'_

* * *

**There you have it guys. I hope you enjoyed it.**

**Songs used : Not Over You-Gavin Degraw and The Scientist-Coldplay (but the Glee version with a few alterations)**

**Thank you for reading and tell me what you think in a review if you have the time!**

**xx**


	15. Chapter 15

**Heeeeellllllloooooo readers! I've finally got this chapter done for you guys. I'm so sorry it took so long, course work really took up a lot of my time and I found this chapter very emotionally draining for me as it hit rather close to home with me as I have experienced the events in this chapter. Not all, just a few. So yeah, I had to have a break in days with regards to this chapter to collect myself and get in the right mindset to continue writing it.**

**I'm sorry if the ending is a little rushed, I really wanting to upload this for you guys by today seeing as you've all been so patient.**

**As always, thank you all for the wonderful reviews on the last chapter, and I hope you like this one!**

* * *

She doesn't know how she got to this. To the point of crying so hard it feels like her throat is going to rip in two. To the point where her Mum is too torn up to even comfort her and so the girl she's in love with is doing it herself. She never thought Rachel would see her like this. She never wanted her to.

But with Rachel's arms wrapped around her, gently rocking her backwards and forwards, she can't help but realise that she needed this. She needed someone to hold her and just be there for her. Tell her everything will be fine, everything will be normal again though it won't. She just needed someone to give her that little bit of hope.

That someone is Rachel.

This should be no surprise to Quinn. She knew that Rachel is the light at the end of the tunnel to her. But she never thought that she would get to a point where she _needed_ Rachel to be that light. No, not even needed, craved Rachel to be the light. Strived for it, would happily die for her to be it. And so she clings, she clings on tightly, in hopes of never letting Rachel go.

And as she cries in her arms, in the middle of a room that looks similar to a bomb site, Quinn can't help but feel that-even after all this shit that has been dumped on her-she is the luckiest girl in the world.

She can hear Rachel whisper softly in her ear, calming her, just being with her. Quinn vaguely registers herself speaking the words 'I miss him' like a mantra because in her head, different words are pounding against her skull, desperately trying to reach Rachel. They boom loudly, pounding in her ears, wishing to be softly caressed by Rachel's soft voice calming her.

'_Don't leave me. Don't let go. Be with me._

_Forever'_

* * *

**2 weeks earlier**

It was no surprise to Quinn that New Directions where crowned the winners of Sectionals. Despite this though, Quinn couldn't help but shout in excitement and within that excitement, momentarily forget where she was and who was around before grabbing hold of Rachel and spinning her around in circles. She doesn't care that she earned a death glare from Finn, she had Rachel laughing happily in her ear. That's all she really cared for.

But her excitement and happiness soon evaporated when they congregated onto the bus and Rachel down right by Finn. Quinn watched them the whole way back, wondering what they were talking about. Finn looked pissed, Rachel looked apologetic. Jealousy boiled within Quinn when Rachel pressed a kiss to Finn's cheek. But when she noticed Rachel moving out of the seat, she couldn't help but feel like a excited puppy, her tail wagging against the seat as Rachel made her way over to her. The brunette sent a smile her way before sitting down next to Puck, quietly talking to him then placing her head onto his shoulder.

More jealousy had filled Quinn then. Why didn't Rachel come to her? Why did she need Puck and not Quinn?

The jealousy disappeared once they arrived back at McKinley and Quinn was promptly pulled into a hug by her Dad. She couldn't help but smile against his shoulder, holding onto him tightly as she breathed in the smell of his cologne.

She had immediately forgiven him for the argument earlier as soon as she saw him in the audience smiling up at her. She was so hurt when Russell had informed her that he has to go to work. She shouted at him, telling him to not even bother coming. She felt so guilty afterwards. As Russell had held her in the car park, she apologised profusely, only to be gently shushed and apologised to.

Now she sits at her dining table, packets of take-out strewn about in the kitchen as she smiles at Rachel from beside her. Russell had invited the Berry's over for a celebratory dinner.

Rachel smiles at Quinn triumphantly as she chews on her vegan noodles, having won a scrabble game against Quinn moments before. Quinn knows she's not going to hear the end of it.

When Rachel clears her throat, Quinn keeps herself from rolling her eyes once again. She can tell by the way Rachel is smirking at her, the brunette is about to inform their families of this lovely news.

Joy.

"I have an announcement to make" Rachel says, starting to get up.

"Hold on a second little Berry" Russell says, putting his hand up to stop Rachel from speaking "There's something I'd like to say first"

Quinn silently thanks her Dad from saving her from humiliation. She chuckles when Rachel pouts and sits back down, sad that she doesn't get to boast about her win against Quinn.

Russell clanks his knife against his glass, though Quinn has absolutely no idea why, everyone is already paying attention to him.

"I'd like to propose a toast-"

"Oh god" Quinn groans, her head falling into her hands.

"To my darling Quinn..." Russell carries on like Quinn never interrupted "And Rachel, for their win at Sectionals and the amazing song they wrote together"

"Rachel wrote it, I did the music"

"Which helps with the song writing" Rachel argues "Therefore you wrote it with me"

"But if it wasn't for your lyrics, there would be no song"

"A song isn't just lyrics. The music is just as important."

"Before you two argue over who did what" Russell says, interrupting the girls' argument "Let's just toast to you two okay?" He says before clinking his glass against Judy's, Hiram's and Leroy's.

Quinn grabs her glass and holds it up, softly tapping it against Rachel's with a smile.

Whatever seemed to be bothering Rachel on the coach, seemed to have disappeared now as Quinn looks at her. She's relaxed and happily laughing with her family.

Quinn can't help but flash her mind to the future as they congregate into the living room. She imagines sitting in this very room, Christmas lights hung up around them for the holiday season as she watches her parents dance with each other much like they are now. She also imagines Leroy and Hiram here, but not as her neighbours. As her in-laws.

And she sees Rachel, snuggled up into her arms as her beautiful wife. She closes her eyes, trying to imagine what it would feel like to have her arm wrapped around Rachel as the brunette tucks her head into her shoulder, humming in content. She also hopes to hear the tiny pitter patter of their children running about or attempting to dance with their grandparents.

One is a four year boy with blonde hair and Rachel's big brown eyes. The other, a two year old girl who's only learnt to walk that year. Her eyes are hazel like Quinn's, but she has Rachel's soft brown locks and voice. Rachel would already have her signed up for dance lessons and vocal lessons. Maybe Quinn will be teaching a few things about soccer to the little boy...James would be his name, she thinks. James Fabray-Berry. And the little girl-either Eponine or Elphalba if Rachel had her way, but Quinn would convince her no, that those names could give her trouble in school and so they call her something else. Maybe Beth. Beth Fabray-Berry. Who knows.

The dream is wiped away from Quinn's eyes though when she notices the panic on her Mum's face. She hears the worried calling of Judy as she get's awaken from the future and brought back to the present. She quickly stands, hurrying over to her Mum and struggling Dad. Russell's hand clutches his chest tightly, the look Of pain breaking his face.

Her ears feel like their filled with cotton as Russell lets out a cry of pain before falling down. The table crashes under the weight of him, causing Leroy to move into action. Before Quinn can even move to kneel down next to Russell, Leroy's punching in codes to his pager and pumping his hand over Russell's heart.

"What-what's happening?" Quinn doesn't even recognise her own voice. It's deep, monotone. Nothing like her usual one. She kneels beside her Dad, shaking off any hands that grab onto her shoulders. She faintly hears Judy crying behind her, but can only focus on her Dad.

"He's going into cardiac arrest" Leroy says, in his-as Rachel has dubbed it before- 'doctor' voice.

"What" Is all Quinn can say, sounding like a scared little girl

Leroy finally looks up at Quinn and sees her hopeless, broken expression. His heart break a little, knowing that Quinn will be feeling so frightened right now. He looks up at Hiram who nods and grabs Rachel by her shoulders, only to have Rachel shake him off. She doesn't say anything, but walks forwards and kneels beside Quinn, rubbing her back softly.

Leroy takes Quinn's hands and begins to get her to pump her hands down on Russell's heart "Just keep doing that sweetheart, paramedics are on their way" he says softly. He gets up and gently coaxes Judy away from the scene, knowing that Judy is probably thinning away on the inside.

Quinn pumps her hands, staring at her Dad with a blank expression. His eyes are closed, but his face is contorted in pain as Quinn continues to pump. She can feel Rachel beside her, she can feel her hand on her back but she takes no notice, her eyes are only fixed on Russell as she begins to pump faster, feeling his heartbeat slowing down.

She feels arms move her off of him and doesn't fight. She looks on, completely numb as two paramedics take hers and Rachel's place, shouting all these medical words around the room and to Leroy. Equipment is produced as they try to get Russell's heart beat back to normal pace.

She looks up and sees Leroy, his eyes trained on Russell as the paramedics tend to him, firing off information the medics ask for. Before she can even blink, she's being moved again and placed into the front seat of Leroy's car. She watches as Russell's body is moved onto a gurney and lifted into the ambulance, a very destroyed looking Judy climbing in the back, her hand immediately moving to hold onto Russell's.

Quinn makes out the words 'Don't let go now' leave Judy's lips before the door are closed and the ambulance moves off, flashes of red and blue lighting Quinn's face.

* * *

Quinn stands outside the room, peering through the glass window and the body of her Farther wrapped in a hospital gown and sheets. Her stomach churns at the unnatural sight of wires hooked up to him, the heart beat monitor beeping ever so slowly. She breathes out and rests her head against the glass, closing her eyes as she tries to calm herself down.

Severe heart surgery. That's what Leroy had told her that Russell went through. But, from the conversation they had with the surgeon, even that won't keep Russell alive for very long. His heart attack was so bad that they had only just managed to keep him alive.

At that news, Judy had promptly broken down and Hiram drove her home. Quinn refused to leave, not wanting her Dad to be on his own. It's been four hours and Quinn still has yet to enter his room.

She doesn't know why it's so hard. Maybe it's the fact that if she walks in there, then it will all be real. It will finally hit her that he may not be in her life for that much longer. Or maybe she's scared. Scared that she's going to walk in there and not like what she sees. The possibility of seeing her Dad so helpless is well...scary.

He's always been the strong one in the family. He's been the one who stood up for them all, he's the one who stood by Quinn and defended her at church when one of the other families made a derogatory comment about Quinn's sexuality. He refused to back down when the priest asked him too, hating that the priest was doing nothing to help defend Quinn. They never went back to that church again.

But now, just the possibility of seeing him so defenceless makes Quinn un-easy.

"I got you some coffee" A gentle voice says from beside her.

Quinn turns her head, looking at Rachel holding up a Styrofoam cup to her, a soft smile on her face. Quinn quietly takes it, nodding her thanks and taking a sip. Her eyes venture back to her dad through the glass. She tightens her hold around the cup, bringing up to her lips again and takes another sip. She hears Rachel shuffle on her feet before feeling a hand rest upon her own. Her eyes dart down to the small, tanned fingers wrapping around her own. It's then she notices the coffee spilling out of the cup and the slight burn of heat from the liquid. Rachel removes her hand and takes the cup away, tipping away its remains and throwing it into the bin.

When Rachel hands Quinn her own cup, the blonde shakes her head, not even bothering to remove her eyes from the room. She hears Rachel sigh softly, but still doesn't look away, her bottom lip becoming worried between her teeth.

"You're going to need to go in at sometime" Rachel whispers, not wanting to startle Quinn.

Quinn doesn't reply. She crosses her arms over her chest, her eyebrows furrowing together.

"I know you want to go in"

Quinn hears Rachel huff in annoyance. She bites down on her lip harder, stopping herself from smiling. Now is not the time to smile.

"Fine. If you won't, I will" Quinn watches as Rachel moves into the room, standing by the bed next to her Dad.

Rachel's brown eyes glance over at Quinn before moving back to Russell. Quinn tilts her head to the side when she sees Rachel's lips begin to move, like she's telling Russell a story. Rachel continues to talk, standing by the head of the bed, her hands gently running through Russell's hair. Her eyes occasionally dart up to Quinn, but they never linger for long.

Each time Quinn swears she sees a little disappointment in them. And each time, it makes her feel ashamed.

So she walks away, not being able to take the looks from Rachel any longer.

* * *

Quinn rubs at her eye as she stares blankly into her locker. It's been three days since her Dad came out of surgery and she still has yet to enter his room. She's just been standing outside the room, staring at him through the glass whilst her Mum, Rachel, Leroy, Hiram, Puck and even Ramona and Santana walk in and out. Puck brought flowers one day, putting them by Russell's bedside.

Everyone- apart from Rachel-try to coax Quinn into the room and every time, they fail. Rachel doesn't bother now. She speaks to Quinn for a moment and when she doesn't receive any answers, she sighs and walks into the room, sending Quinn more looks. But they're no longer filled with disappointment, just sadness.

She's gone every night after school finishes, but just stands in the same spot, refusing to move into the room. Her fear has her rooted there, not allowing her to move.

She's hardly spoken to anyone, she hasn't gone to Glee, hasn't touched her guitar or even eaten that much. Judy keeps on trying to get her to eat more, but Quinn takes one look down the dinner table and upon not seeing anyone sitting at the head, loses her apatite and retreats to her room. She's hardly noticed anything around her, every hour goes by like a blur. It's almost as if someone has sped up time on everyone but her. Like she's a ghost wondering through the halls.

But there's one thing she has noticed...The lack of Finn on Rachel's arm. She saw them arguing the other day from her bedroom window, but thought nothing of it. But she's noticed how instead of being by Rachel's side, Finn's following her around like a kicked puppy. That was when Quinn first felt the hope shine in her. Hope that maybe everything will be okay.

Then she returns to the hospital and the hope disappears. She knows he doesn't have long left, but she still can't bring herself to make that step into the room. She still doesn't want it all to become real.

"Hey"

Quinn removes her head from her locker and looks down at Artie, smiling weakly at him.

"Hey" She replies, her voice scratching against her throat. She swallows, hoping to get rid of the dry feeling.

Artie looks down at his lap momentarily. Quinn waits patiently, not in a hurry to get to class. She smiles faintly when Artie looks back up a again, a hesitant look on his face.

"Need a ride to class?" He asks after a few moments of silence pass them by.

A full smile bursts out on Quinn's face at Artie's suggestion, they hadn't done anything like that since forever. She nods and sits down on his lap.

"Hold on tight" He says as he begins to roll away, Quinn curled up on his lap.

Before they turn down the hallway, Quinn notices Rachel watching them. There's a small smile on the brunettes lips and relief in her eyes. Quinn looks away, smiling at Artie once Rachel leaves her view. Artie comes to a stop outside of her class and Quinn stands up, pulling her books against her chest.

"Have you thought of what you're going to sing for Miss Tibideaux.?" Artie asks.

Quinn pauses and frowns. She had forgotten all about NYADA and sending in her application form.

"I'm not going to be singing" Quinn says softly, pulling her books closer to her chest "I forgot to send in my application form in time. Glee and Soccer made me forgot about it."

"I'm sure you can find some way-"

"Even if I could Artie, I can't. Not now. If I remembered to send it off and got the yes from them, I don't think I'd be able to perform. Not with my Dad..." Quinn trails off and looks away from Artie. She bites her lip, the grip on her books tightening ever so slightly.

Artie nods, understanding. He gently takes Quinn's hand in his own, making her look to him again "I know." He smiles "Come on, let's get to class"

* * *

She's back in the same spot, staring into the same room, at the same bed. But this time, her hands clasp an envelope in her hand tightly. She can feel the paper crinkling underneath her finger tips, her grip starting to scrunch the paper up. As soon as she read the writing, she knew who it was from. There's only one school that hand writes letters to students.

So she ran. Ran all the way to the hospital. She just knew who had sent her application off and wanted to hug them, without even finding out if she was into the next round. But she can't because he's all wired up and near death. This is probably the closest she's come to tears yet. Quinn can feel the unmistakable lump in her throat and the sting in her eyes. But she wills herself not to let the tears fall. Not yet.

Judy steps up beside her, bags under her eyes from sleepless nights at the hospital. She gently removes the letter from Quinn's fingers and holds it up to her.

"Open it"

Quinn peels her eyes away from the room to look at the hazel eyes of her Mum. Judy smile timidly at her, nudging Quinn with the letter. Quinn continues to stare at her, fear and hesitation in her eyes.

"If you don't open it, I will"

When Judy goes to open it up, Quinn takes the letter from her. She wants to open it. She was staring at it for thirty minutes earlier, desperately wanting to open it but couldn't bring herself to do it, not without being near her Dad.

Her finger shakily moves smoothly through the envelops, cleanly opening it. Judy watches her with tired, excited eyes as she removes the letter. She unfolds it, her eyes running over the words rapidly. Her bottom lip becomes worried between her teeth as she reads the words again. Judy buzzes beside her, desperately wanting to know what it said.

Quinn looks up at Judy before walking past her and finally, into the room. She walks straight over to Russell, Judy following her in shock, and grabs hold of his hand. Quinn swallows, her thumb rubbing over the back of Russell's hand.

"Dad...I don't know if you can hear me...but I have some news" She looks at the letter for a moment then looks back up again. She takes a deep breath "You know how you sent in my application to NYADA? Well they replied to it"

Judy moves closer, her eyes brimming with tears as she watches her daughter finally stand by her farther.

Quinn smiles "I got an audition" Judy gasps, but Quinn doesn't listen. She swears she sees her Dad smile and moves closer "I just wanted to say...thank you. Thank you for sending it in and thank you for...believing in me"

Silence falls upon the room, even Judy's tears are quiet.

Then it sounds through the room. The slight quickening pace of the heart beat monitor. Quinn's eyes dart up to it and she stares at the green and black screen. She doesn't know what any of this means, but she's guessing it's a good thing. His heart beat is picking up pace. That must be good right?

But then it becomes frantic and more beeps sound through the rooms. Quinn's eyes widen in fright when a swarm of nurses and Doctors rush into the room, moving Quinn out of the way.

"He's going into a bother cardiac arrest" One of them shouts out.

Quinn tries to look between the bodies, but none are giving way. "What's going on?"

"It's worse than last time. We need the defibrillator!" Another shouts, ignoring Quinn's question.

Quinn watches a pair of nurses roll in the defibrillator. Before she can even take a step towards the bed, arms wrap around her and begin to move her out of the room. Quinn screams, pushing the arms away from her as she desperately tries to moves out of their arms.

"Dad!" She shouts over the sounds of them charging the defibrillator.

"Quinn, you need to leave" she hears someone say, but she doesn't stop. She needs to be here, she can't leave him alone.

"No! Let go of me!" She pushes once more but their arms tighten their grip around her.

She turns round to shove them away, but stops when Leroy's kind, brown eyes looks down at her. They look so much like Rachel's. So soft and understanding. She doesn't even realise he's taken her out of the room until she's looking in through the glass, watching her Dad's body jump violently from the bed.

* * *

Quinn licks her lips nervously, staring out at the many face looking back at her. Her fingers ease the creases out of the paper as she desperately tries to say the words she took hours to write out. She takes a shaky breath and looks around, her eyes focusing on the teary brown eyes of Rachel. The brunette nods at her, telling her to start.

It's all Quinn needs.

"My Father was an ambitious man. When he set himself a goal, he made sure to do everything in his power to get that goal, no matter what that took. I remember the first time he tried to teach me soccer" Quinn ruffles the papers around. "No matter how hard I tried to do it, I couldn't kick it into the goal. But Dad never gave up with me. He pushed me harder, telling me that if I try, I could do it."

Quinn laughs to herself, remembering how hard it was for her to kick the soccer ball

"And so I did try, until I finally got that soccer ball into the goal. When I did, Dad let out the most joyous of laughs and lifted me into the air. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. I had made my Dad proud. From that day on, I set out to make him proud, wanting to hear that laugh again and again. Even now that he's gone, I hope to continue making him proud." Quinn turns the page and looks up, seeing a few people wiping at the tears on their faces. Quinn smiles at Judy who nods, beaming right back at her, tears sliding down her face "He taught me to take everything life throws at you head on. He taught me that I need to fight for what I love, no matter the consequences. He used to say that life is worth bearing heartbreak and failures because in the end, in the end you will beat it. He once said to me that life is a dangerous game and to beat that, you have succeeded at the hardest challenges God has to offer."

Quinn looks over at the wooden casket beside her. She feels a tear roll down her cheek as she looks it over and turns her face away, needing to get on with the speech. She takes a deep breath and says the final sentence. "I hope that when I have kids of my own, I'll be able to make them proud as my Dad made me of him. I love you Dad, may you rest in peace"

She moves when the room claps and she sits down in her seat between Rachel and Judy. As soon as her bum hits the pew, Rachel grabs hold of her hand and holds on tight. Quinn smiles slightly, her eyes moving to her shoes against the floor. Hope soars through her at the simple touch.

People around her cry as the casket slowly descends into the grave, but Quinn feels nothing. This is it. Her Dad is now gone. How are you meant to feel about that? Sadness? Remorse? Pain? Quinn doesn't know. She just feels numb. She still has yet to cry completely. It's not that she doesn't want to, it's that she can't. It feels like all emotion has been sucked out of her. She mindelessley throws mud onto the grave before walking away with Judy on her arm, crying hysterically.

Should she be crying to? Did her speech just drain Quinn of all the emotion she can hold? She doesn't understand. She's not feeling anything but she's meant to. She's meant to be angry, sad, depressed. But she's not! Is that normal?

Quinn removes her arm from Judy's to get into the car and drive Judy to the wake.

Quinn decides against going.

* * *

It's been a week.

She still has yet to feel anything.

She hasn't gone to Glee yet. Something is stopping her from going but she doesn't know what. Quinn huffs gently and pushes the door open into the school. She keeps her head down as she walks, not wanting to engage in any conversations with anyone.

The only people she's spoken to is Artie and occasionally Rachel. When she and Rachel speak, Quinn can tell Rachel's holding something back from her, like she needs to tell her something but doesn't feel right in doing so.

It's odd really.

With her head being down, she doesn't notice the looks people are sending her way. She only looks up when she hears murmuring from behind her. That's when she sees it. The sympathetic looks from people she's never spoken to before, smirks from Jocks and Cheerleaders she's shot down, lik they're happy about something that happened to her. They can't know, Quinn told Figgins and Miss Pillsbury that she didn't wish for anyone outside of Glee to know.

"Quinn"

Quinn looks and notices a red head she's never spoken to before standing next to her.

"I'm so sorry about your Dad" Quinn's eyebrows furrow in confusion. "It's so sad that he died"

That's when she realises. Her books drop from her hand onto the floor. It makes sense. The looks people are giving her. They know.

How do they know?

"Who told you?" She bites out. She feels something begin to brew at the pit of her stomach.

"No one. I read it on Jacob Israel's blog-"

Quinn doesn't allow the girl to finish and marches off down the hall, gaining a few on followers who were listening to the conversation. She turns the corner and spots him, standing in front of his camera with his stupid microphone. The feeling in her stomach intensifies, her hands clench into fists and her jaw tightens.

"Jewfro!" She shouts, marching down the hallway to him.

He turns round, a smile on his face. It quickly falls when Quinn grabs hold of his shirts and pins him up against the lockers, his microphone clanging to the ground. Fear dances thorugh his eyes as the HBIC glares at him, fury in her eyes.

"Who told you?" She growls.

"Told me what?" He squeaks out. He screams slightly when Quinn pushes against the lockers again.

"You know what"

"My sources' identities are confidential" When Quinn pulls her fist back, Jacob squeaks "Rachel Berry! Rachel Berry okay!"

Quinn unceremoniously drops him onto the ground at the confession at the admittance. She takes a step back, her breathing irregular as the feeling in her stomach intensifies. Berry? Berry told him! Quinn growls once again and charges off down the hall, now on a hunt for a new target.

When she sees Rachel standing next to Puck's locker, she realises the feeling surging through her body. Pure anger.

"Berry!" She shouts, gaining Rachel's and a few others attention.

Rachel turns to her, an eyebrow raised in questioning as Quinn charges towards her, looking like she wants to kill her. She should be afraid right now, but Rachel is just happy Quinn is showing some sort of emotion instead of being the lifeless robot she has been the past week.

"Quinn"

"You told him! You told him about my Dad?!" Quinn shouts, shoving Rachel back slightly.

"Hey, don't touch her like that" Puck says, moving to step between them but Quinn only glares at him, causing him to shut up.

"Told who?" Rachel asks, now feeling some slight fear because of how close Quinn is to her.

"Jacob, that's who! Now this is all over his blog and now everyone knows! You've ruined everything once again Manhands!"

As soon as the word leaves Quinn's lips, she immediately regrets them. She notices the way pain flashes through Rachel's eyes at the comment and how the brunette's fingers begin to scratch at her hands again. All the anger Quinn felt seemed to sizzle away at the destroyed expression on Rachel's face.

"I-I'm so sorry Rachel, I didn't mean it"

Rachel bites her lip and drops her hands "No, I'm sorry" she says "I-I don't know how he found out, but I can assure you I didn't tell him"

Quinn looks down the hallway, spotting Jacob at the other end, watching their exchange with the rest of the student body. Quinn takes a deep breath to calm the anger she feels brewing again.

"I need to go" Quinn whispers before taking off down the hallway.

* * *

She can feel the anger bubbling once again as she reads the opening sentence of Jewfro's blog.

'_Breaking news: HBIC Farther passed away. Inside sources tell more...'_

As Quinn reads on, her anger becomes stronger, slowly building up within her again. Everyone is going to treat her differently now. She's the kid who lost a parent, not the Captain who won the Soccer cup last year. Not anymore.

She hates it. Absolutely hates it. All she wanted is for everything to go about their day like nothing happened. She didn't want any special treatment in classes, no sympathetic stares. But now she won't be able to avoid them.

Quinn growls and slams her laptop shut, not being able to read anymore. She places her head in her hands, her breathing becoming erratic. Why did Dad have to die? Why was he allowed to leave them? Leave her?

It's not fair. It's not fucking fair.

A broken cry of anger resonates the room as Quinn grabs hold of the glass on her desk and throws it against her. That triggers it.

She throws anything the grabs, screaming in anger and frustration.

He left her. He's not going to be there when Quinn gets married. Her children aren't going to meet him. He left. He left.

* * *

Judy listens in on the screams of her daughter, her heart breaking even more than it is already. She wants to go in and comfort her, tell her everything is going to be all right. But she can't be the strong one for them right now. Not yet.

And so, Judy runs and grabs the one person who can help her.

* * *

Quinn screams once again, grabbing hold of the closest object. She pauses though when she feels the weight of it. Her eyes focus on an old, junior guitar with scratches on it, a chipped body and strings missing. Her first guitar. She remembers when she got given it.

"_Here you go Sweetheart, just like you wanted" Russell says, handing a happy Quinn her brands new, junior guitar for her new lessons._

_Quinn squeals in delight "Thank you Daddy!" She says, running and giving him a hug._

_Russell laughs happily, holding his daughter tight against his body. When they pull away, Russell sits Quinn on his lap, the guitar gently placed on the table next to them._

"_Now Quinnie, I want you to promise me something"_

_Quinn stares at her Daddy with a serious expression, nodding tightly, concentrating on what he's about to say. "Anything"_

"_You will save me a seat for your rock concert when you're older" Russell says with a smile._

_Quinn laughs "Of course I will Daddy. You'll have front row seats"_

"_What about VIP privileges?"_

_Quinn tilts her head to the side, thinking it over. She doesn't notice the way Russell watches her with parental adoration._

"_Maybe. It depends" She replies._

"_On what?"_

"_On if you get me ice cream afterwards"_

_Her Daddy throws his head back and laughs loudly and from his belly. "Of course"_

_Quinn sticks her hand out to him "Deal?"_

_Russell takes Quinn's hand and shakes it firmly "Deal"_

The guitar clangs to the floor. Her anger evaporates, replaced by an onslaught of tears and sadness. He's gone. Her Daddy is gone. It really happened.

She can't take it, can't take the level of grief washing over her, the way her shoulders shake violently as she desperately tries to suck in air as she cries. Her legs give way to her buckling weight. But instead of hitting the floor, strong arms wrap round her and gently guide her onto the carpet.

Quinn immediately tucks her face into the crook of their neck, knowing exactly who it is that is softly shushing her and telling her everything's going to be okay, that she's here and nothing can hurt her.

The same hope Quinn had before shines through again as she clings to Rachel's shirt, pained cries escaping her as Rachel continues to whisper in her ear. Rachel gives her hope, hope that maybe, in time, everything will be okay. But right now it isn't, because Quinn's Dad has died.

And it's only just hit her.

* * *

**Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Please review and tell me what you thought.**

**Thank you **

**xx**


	16. Chapter 16

**Heyo! I'm oh so very sorry for the late update guys! I've been procrastinating mainly. What did you guys think about Quinn sleeping with Santana? Do you think it's going to be a one night stand, or become a regular thing? I hope RIB delve more into that story line and don't fuck it up like the others!**

**Anyway, thank you all so much for the reviews. They were all very heartfelt and truly made me feel like I had done a good job on the chapter.**

**Anyway, enough with my rambling, I'm sure you'd like to crack on with reading the story!**

* * *

She watches the steam escape her cup and float up, disappearing into the air. She wishes that she was the steam, disappearing when she needs to, when she wants to. Steam can do what it likes, swirl around in the air like it's reciting a graceful dance, or just pop up with speed, needing to go quickly. No one questions it, no one wonders why it has to do so.

That's when being human isn't all it's cracked up to be. You'll get questioned if you disappear, you are judged if you do something out of the ordinary, you are hated if you leave abruptly and you're considered rude if you do. You can't do anything to escape, because there is always someone chasing after you, whether you want them to or not.

Quinn sighs softly, her tear stained cheeks sagging slightly in tired-ness. Right now, with Rachel sitting across from her, Quinn desperately wants to turn into the steam leaving her cup and disappear. Especially after breaking down in Rachel's arms.

"Are you not thirsty?" Rachel attentively asks.

Quinn glances at Rachel for a brief second and shakes her head, pushing the cup away with her index finger. She removes her eyes from Rachel and leans back in her chair.

"Quinn, look at me" Rachel says. Quinn refuses to look, keeping her eyes focused on a spot on the wall beside Rachel. "Please" The brunette pleads.

Quinn sucks in some air and bites her lip before looking up at Rachel. She feels the tears well up in her eyes as she continues to look at Rachel's solemn expression, flashes of her Dad lying in the hospital bed appearing in her mind. As soon as the first tears falls, Rachel's by her side and pulling her into a hug.

"You're okay sweetie. Everything is going to get better. I promise" Rachel whispers into Quinn's hair, placing a kiss there as Quinn silently cries into her neck.

"I miss him so much" Quinn whispers against Rachel's neck, her lips brushing over the smooth skin.

"I know you do." Rachel pulls back slightly and wipes away the tears running down Quinn's cheeks "But what we need to do is to remember the good times you had with him. Remember who your Dad was, what he achieved, not what he lost. Okay?"

Quinn moves back from Rachel, putting some space between them and rubs at her nose, sniffing slightly "Like what?"

Rachel bites her lip, obviously thinking about something she could say "Like the tree house you to built together! I remember sitting in my backyard and just watching you to muck about. It took you both three months to complete it because you were too busy play about with each other to start the job"

Quinn smiles at the memory. Her finger traces the rim of her mug "It should have taken us two weeks." Her smile falls "It's damaged now. I stopped using it once we got into High School and because of how old it was and the rain; we had to dismantle some of it"

Quinn looks up at Rachel, noticing her complacent look. Quinn tilts her head to the side, trying to decipher what Rachel could possibly be thinking.

Rachel blinks and smiles, looking at Quinn once again, seemingly coming back from her thoughts.

"Where did you just go now?" Quinn asks with a small smile.

Rachel ignores her and stands up from the table, looking like an excited puppy "I have a brilliant idea!"

Quinn purses her lips, looking at Rachel warily "And what would this brilliant idea be?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rachel asks excitedly. She scurries over to Quinn and kneels beside her "Your fondest memory of your Dad is building that tree house. How about we re-build the tree house and you can use it as a room for when you want to escape everything or remember him!"

Hazel eyes peer down at the table top, scanning the design of the wood. Re-Decorating the tree house with Rachel will give her a chance to actually spend some time with Rachel and probably forget all that has happened recently. But then there's if she has a repeat of her most recent episode. She doesn't want Rachel to see that again.

'_But you get to spend time with Rachel without having to worry about her jackass of a boyfriend'_

Quinn nods, agreeing with her own logic and looks back to Rachel who is still on her knees in front of her with a pout on her face. Quinn rolls her eyes, how can she say no to this girl?

"Okay"

Rachel squeals in delight and jumps up onto Quinn's lap, wrapping her in a hug. Quinn freezes for a second, shocked by the movement but soon relaxes and wraps her own arms around Rachel's waist and resting her chin on the smaller girls shoulder.

"This is going to be great!"

* * *

Quinn rubs the back of her neck in aggravation as she stares at the tiny brunette in front of her. They've been arguing back and forth in the middle of the store about what colour the tree house should be. Right now, Rachel is holding up a can of pink paint with a determined glare on her face.

"Rachel, we are not painting the tree house pink!" Quinn says, trying to keep her voice even.

"Well why not?"

"Because we are not five year olds!"

Rachel scoffs "Quinn, we are building a tree house. That's something a five year old would love"

Quinn's lips quirk up at the corners at Rachel's comment. She can't help but think that-although she is annoyed- Rachel looks really adorable with her eyebrows furrowed, her hand on her hips and a pout on her face.

"The tree house can't be pink. Tree houses are not pink. They are tree colour"

Rachel's pout disappears and is replaced with a big smile, a chuckle falling from her lips as she places back the pink paint can "And what exactly is 'tree colour'?"

Quinn shrugs and starts to push the cart they collected at the entrance down the aisle, to the next one, Rachel quickly following her. "Different shades of brown. Like a tree"

"You mean wood"

Again, Quinn shrugs "I guess"

Rachel nods from beside Quinn "Okay, so we'll leave the exterior of the tree house, 'tree colour'" she says, using her fingers as air quotes. Quinn blushes at the teasing and clears her throat, nodding tersely. "But we have to paint the interior"

"I veto pink" Quinn says quickly, stopping in front of more paint cans.

Rachel huffs "I wasn't going to say Pink" Quinn turns to Rachel and raises a disbelieving eyebrow at her. Rachel purses her lips before sighing "Okay I may of had pink in mind"

Quinn laughs and looks over the line of paint cans, her finger pressed to her lips.

"What I was going to say is maybe we could paint it the colour that was your Dad's favourite?"

"Blue. Sky Blue." Quinn says, her finger gently touching the sky blue paint can "In the Summer, when I was younger, Mum, Dad and I used to lie down on the grass in our backyard and look at the clouds." Quinn smiles to herself "We would argue over what the cloud looked like, a sheep, a soccer ball, a flower. All sorts. But one thing we always agreed on was the colour of the sky, what kind of blue it was, that it was the best kind of blue" Quinn swallows back the lump in her throat and looks over at Rachel with a watery smile.

Rachel smiles back and grabs the paint can off the shelf "Then sky blue it shall be" She quietly whispers, taking the cart from Quinn's hands and moving down the aisle.

Quinn follows her softly smiling to herself as Rachel picks out different nooks and crannies for the tree house, occasionally asking Quinn if they were okay before moving onto the next thing.

Rachel has been amazing so far. She hasn't brought up the incident; she hasn't made Quinn talk about how she feels about everything. She's just treated her like normal, like nothing bad has happened. It's exactly what Quinn needed. She doesn't want to be treated differently just because her Dad died and people think she might break down at any second.

When they get to the wooden planks for the tree house, Quinn stops Rachel in her movements for a second and pulls her into a hug, placing her cheek upon the smaller girls head and tugging her close. She sighs when Rachel wraps her own arms around Quinn's waist, also pulling the blonde closer to her.

"Has anyone ever told you how amazing you are?" Quinn asks against Rachel's head, breathing in the scent of strawberries.

Rachel giggles against Quinn's shoulder and moves back, lightly scratching at her hands "Not really, but thank you"

Quinn grabs hold of Rachel's hands "You are amazing" she pauses and looks down at Rachel's hands, inspecting the healing wounds. She looks back up at Rachel, spotting the nervous expression on her face "Have you been scratching still?" she quietly asks so no one else can hear.

Rachel shakes her head, only to stop at the serious expression on Quinn's face "Only the other day" she admits quietly.

Quinn nods and releases Rachel's hands "Just as long as you try and not do it again" she smiles "Come on, let's grab the wood"

Rachel giggles, watching as Quinn bends to pick up the planks "I didn't know you liked grabbing wood Quinn"

"Shit!" Quinn shouts when she drops the plank on the ground, narrowly missing her foot. She looks up at the giggling Rachel "If that had fallen on my foot, I would blame you"

"It's not my fault you can't keep hold of your wood"

"Good god!"

* * *

Quinn grunts as she pushes the hand saw through the wood, sweat trickling down her neck. The familiar feeling of an oncoming sneeze begins in her nose and she turns her head away, breathing in and letting out a big sneeze. The sawdust keeps on finding its way up her nose and it's starting to aggravate her. The saw finally cuts through the wood, causing the wood to clatter to the ground.

She sighs in relief and stands up straight, searching for Rachel. She spots the girl painting a small table that Rachel had found in the hardware store white. Quinn chuckles to herself when she spots Rachel's bright pink, bedazzled tool belt. She remembers how earlier the brunette had walked into Quinn's backyard, looking very pleased with herself, with a pink hardhat on and her tool belt. When questioned, Rachel sputtered for a bit before answering with a huff.

"One can never be over prepared Quinn!" She had said before marching off to grab the table and leaving Quinn to do all the heavy lifting.

Quinn walks over to Rachel and raps the side of the hard hat a couple of times with her knuckle. Rachel jumps back in fright and holds onto the helmet, looking at Quinn with bright, alert eyes.

"Quinn! Don't do that!"

"Why?" Quinn asks, biting back her laughter.

"I felt like a fish! Now I know why aquariums ask not to tap on the glass, it's terrifying!"

Laughter bubbles out of Quinn's mouth, a bright smile taking over her features as she laughs like she hasn't laughed in weeks. Once getting her breath back, Quinn smiles at the scowling brunette.

"I haven't laughed like that in weeks"

Quinn spies the tell-tale sign of a smile at the corners of Rachel's lips as the brunette tries not to laugh with her.

"I'm happy that I am a source of your entertainment. Now, is there something you wanted?"

"Yes. I've finished making the wooden planks the right sizes; you need to help me put them together"

Rachel nods, fear passing through her eyes as she looks towards the ladder set up beside the tree Quinn used for the old tree house. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to stand on the ladder" Quinn says, heaving a wooden plank onto her shoulder "And hold this wooden plank in place whilst I nail it to the tree, can you do that?"

Rachel swallows nervously and walks over to the step ladder, moving up the ladder on shaky legs. She squeaks when she reaches the top and balances herself against the tree. Quinn watches with a raised eyebrow as Rachel seems to calm herself and steady herself without the tree.

"You okay?" Quinn asks, beginning to hand Rachel the wooden plank, directing her to put it in the right place.

As Rachel nods, the step ladder wobbles and she loses her footing. She screams as she falls from the ladder. Instead of hitting the ground, Rachel feels something soft break her landing, hearing the wooden plank fall from the tree and hit the ground a few feet away from her. She opens her eyes when she hears a soft chuckle sound from beneath her.

Quinn's sparkling hazel eyes come into her view and she realises the soft cushioning was Quinn.

"You okay?" Quinn asks, tucking a strand of hair behind Rachel's ear.

Rachel blinks and nods "Yeah. Thank you for saving me"

Quinn smiles at her, her hand resting on Rachel's cheek "I'll always catch you"

Rachel blushes at Quinn's words and places her forehead against Quinn's chest, chuckling softly to herself.

Quinn clears her throat as she lazily draws patterns on Rachel's back with her index finger "We should ask someone else to help"

Rachel nods, but snuggles closer against Quinn's body, revelling in the warmth and not really listening to what Quinn is saying. Quinn sighs at the feeling of Rachel holding onto her, knowing that the only other person who's held Rachel this intimately is Finn.

Quinn freezes at the thought of him, his name feeling like a bucket of cold water being thrown over her, waking her up from the Rachel induced haze. Rachel has a boyfriend Quinn. You can't be acting like this with her.

"I'll go call someone" Quinn says, moving a very confused Rachel off of her before running into the house to grab her phone.

* * *

"Sup pretty ladies"

Quinn cringes at the sight of Puck waltzing into her backyard. As much as she would rather it be her and Rachel fixing the tree house, Puck is the only guy she won't get jealous over. There's no way in hell she would call Finn to help out.

"Noah!" Rachel says excitedly, running up to him. He pulls Rachel into a hug and spins her around.

Quinn was wrong, even with Puck she'll be jealous. Her stomach knots at the sight of Rachel hugging her best friend. She turns away and begins to fiddle with the nails and screws in her hands, sorting them out along the work bench.

"So I heard you guys needed a little bit of man strength around here" Puck says once he places Rachel on the ground again, flexing his arms.

Rachel rolls her eyes "Man? You used to wet the bed until you were twelve years old, Noah."

Puck flushes when Quinn begins to laugh at him "Are you serious?" She asks in disbelief. Quinn locks eyes with Rachel who's also laughing, her brown eyes sparkling at Quinn.

Puck clears his throat and grabs hold of a plank "So someone said something about a tree house?"

After their laughter boiled down, Rachel and Quinn got back to work and helping Puck. Well, Quinn helped Puck, Rachel just directed them both and painted furniture that Quinn is one hundred percent sure won't fit inside the tree house. Puck and Quinn mutter jokes to each other about Rachel's lack of help, causing an annoyed Rachel to stomp her foot and storm inside the Fabray house. Puck and Quinn just continued on with building the tree house until Rachel walked out with a tray of drinks.

Although she had brought them both drinks, Rachel still seemed unhappy with the both of them as she slammed the tray down onto the table and stomped back over to her seat, glaring at the both of them as they drank their drinks.

At some point, both Puck and Quinn removed their t-shirts. Quinn had put her bikini top on before they began constructing, so her breasts where not bare to the world. Puck walked with confidence as his abs glistened with sweat, winking a few times at Rachel who only rolled her eyes at him and looked away pointedly.

However, with Quinn, Rachel didn't seem to be able to remove her eyes from the blonde. Well, Quinn thought so anyway because every time she'd look over at the brunette, she'd catch Rachel staring at her stomach. Every time, Quinn would wink at her, causing Rachel to blush and look away out of embarrassment.

"Have you asked her out yet?" Puck asks as he and Quinn hammer a side of the tree house into the tree.

Quinn snaps her head up and raises an eyebrow "Ask who out?"

"Rachel" he says as if it's obvious.

Quinn looks over at Rachel to see if the girl is listening. Luckily the brunette doesn't seem to be listening as she untangles some fairy lights she brought without Quinn noticing.

"I can't" Quinn says, going back to hammering the planks.

"Why not?"

"Finn"

"What's he got to do with this?"

Quinn puts down the hammer and stares at Puck incredulously "You're kidding me right? Finn is with Rachel. How could you forget that? He is your best friend"

Puck eyes Quinn like she's grown a third eye "What? No he's not"

"What?" Quinn whips her head to look over at Rachel, watching as the brunette gets tangled up in the fairy lights.

"Rachel broke up with Finn when we were driving back from Sectionals. Why do you think she didn't sit next to him?"

Quinn bites her lip, smiling softly when Rachel squeaks and stumbles slightly. "I thought maybe he smelt bad. Finn normally does after competitions"

"Well then, why haven't you seen them hand out with each other around school? Or seen Finn round Rachel's"

"I don't know when-" She stops at the look Puck is giving her "Okay, fine, I haven't seen him in her room for a while"

"Exactly-"

"They could just be arguing though"

"Oh for fucks sake Quinn" Puck says, grabbing Quinn by the shoulders and getting her to look at him "I know Rachel broke up with Finn, seeing as both she and Finn told me."

"Why-why hasn't she said anything to me then?"

Puck shrugs and picks up his hammer, hitting the last nail into place "Maybe she's waiting for the right time to tell you"

Quinn hums and look back at Rachel "I'm going to ask her now"

"What? No!" Puck grabs hold of Quinn's hand, dragging her across the floor they built and out of Rachel's line of sight.

"What are you doing? I thought you wanted me to ask her out?"

"Yes, but not like this. Not now. We need to make her swoon."

"How?"

"Serenade her."

* * *

Quinn waves goodbye to Rachel and Puck as they leave her house, Puck turning to get in his car whilst Rachel turns round the fence and walks up her own driveway. They decided to build the rest of the tree house next weekend as Puck and Quinn were becoming increasingly tired and Rachel was becoming increasingly bored. They've got most of it done though. All they need to do is the roof, paint the tree house and decorate the inside.

Quinn shuts the door behind her and pulls her t-shirt back over her head. She slowly makes her way up the stairs and pauses at her Mums room, hearing heavy snoring emit from inside. She pushes the door open and sighs sadly at the sight.

Judy lies fully clothed on the bed, an empty wine glass in her hand that's hanging over the edge of the bed and two empty wine bottles on the dresser. This isn't the first time Quinn has found her Mum in this state. No, the first time Quinn found her Mum like this was three days after her Dad's funeral. She freaked out at first, thinking she was in a coma when she didn't respond to Quinn's slaps on her face, but upon smelling the stench of Gin leave her Mum's mouth, Quinn knew she was just passed out. It became a repeated action the following days. Quinn would come home from school or soccer practise and find Judy passed out in random places around the house.

She's found her on the settee, kitchen stool, bathtub and she's even found her in the airing cupboard on the landing. Every time Quinn had removed the bottle or glass in Judy's grasp, either picked her up and put her into bed or just placed a blanket over her and walked off to bed. In the morning she'd leave Judy a note and a glass of water and some aspirin. The cycle just repeated itself.

Quinn knows it's her Mum's way of grieving for Russell, to cope with the pain and stress. But after the will reading, Quinn honestly thought Judy would start looking into building a flower shop business like she's always wanted to, now that Russell had left her money to do exactly that. But no, she just hit the bottle and fell asleep on the stairs.

Russell left Quinn some inheritance money too. Money to be used for NYADA. He even said NYADA in his will, making Quinn tear up. He believed that she will get in, even though he first had his doubts, he still believes it.

Quinn quietly walks over to the bed and removes the wine glass from Judy's grip just like previous nights. She removes her Mum's shoes and socks and manoeuvres her under the duvet, just like the previous nights. She takes the empty wine bottles and deposits them downstairs before grabbing a glass of water, some aspirin and writing out another note and placing it on her bedside table. Just like the previous nights.

Also like the previous nights, Quinn makes her way into her own room, changes into her pyjamas and crawls into bed. Then, she takes a deep breath and they fall. Her tears drop onto the pillow resting under her head as she cries at her own pain, cries through her grief, but not just over her Dad. Over her Mum as well, because she knows that she is slowly starting to lose her too.

But tonight is different from the other nights. She hears her window open, she listens as soft footsteps make their way across the room to the bed. She shivers as cold air invades her blankets as the duvet is pulled open, but relaxes when a warm body slides in next to her.

Then, when the smell of Strawberries washes over her and arms wrap around her body, pulling her closer to the scent, she breaks down.

* * *

The cool metal of the locker presses against her skin as she nods along to what Puck is saying, though her eyes are constantly darting over his shoulder to watch Rachel.

They haven't spoken to each other since Saturday night when Rachel came into her room and held her in her arms as Quinn cried, and then continued to hold her as she fell asleep. Quinn had woken up to an empty bed in the morning and a hangover Mum. Then she had to repeat the cycle in the evening with her again.

And once again, Rachel had crawled into Quinn's bed and held her as she cried, not once asking what was wrong. They never spoke, they just laid there together.

"...So I'm thinking that you sing one of those songs you've written about her in front of the Glee club next week"

Quinn looks back to Puck and shakes her head "I can't next week"

"Why not?"

"NYADA Auditions are taking place in the Auditorium. I need to focus on that, plus we have our Soccer Champion ship match that weekend"

"And regionals"

Quinn shakes her head "I'm not going to regionals"

"Why?"

"I can't join glee at the moment. Not yet" Quinn admits quietly.

Puck nods his head in understanding "You don't have to join, you can just sing the song to her, ask her out and live happily ever after"

Quinn scratches the back of her neck "I don't think it works as smoothly like that"

"It does when Puckasaurus is involved" Puck smiles at her warmly "I know you've got a song written for her already, and music. You can sing it to her this Friday, and then focus on your NYADA Audition"

"How did you know-"

"I snooped around your room on Saturday-Ow!" He says, rubbing the spot on his arm Quinn's just punched "I was looking for a measuring tape!"

"In my room? Why would I have one in my room?"

Puck shrugs "Don't all lesbians own their own toolbox?"

Quinn stares at Puck in absolute shock "No!" She says loudly "We don't" she looks over at Rachel again, her eyebrows furrowing together when Finn approaches the girl at her locker.

"What are you two ladies chatting about?" Santana asks, sliding up to both of them, Brittany next to her.

"Isn't it obvious?" Brittany asks "They're thinking of a way for Quinn to ask Rachel out." She says as if it's obvious.

All three furrow their eyebrows together, looking at Brittany in confusion "How did you know that?" Quinn asks.

"I heard you two, plus your were looking at Rachel the entire time so I knew it was something to do with her"

Santana scoffs slightly "Yeah well good luck. Looks like Frankenteen is trying to get in Berry's good books again" She says, nodding over to where Finn is handing Rachel a lily.

Quinn rolls her eyes "He's such an idiot. Rachel hates lilies, gardenias are her favourite"

Puck and Santana look at Quinn with confusion whilst Brittany just looks excited and happy.

"How the hell do you know that?" Santana asks.

"I have been crushing on her for ten years Santana; I think I know what her favourite flower is"

"Yeah but Frankenteen has been dating her for a year and he doesn't know that"

"Finn's an idiot"

Quinn gasps in fear when Finn's head whips over to look at them all staring, his face turning red in anger. "Oh shit, did he hear me?" Quinn asks in a frantic whisper as Finn marches over to them, Rachel quickly following.

Quinn notices the way his hands are curled up into fists. Her heart races furiously in her chest at the fear of being punched. However, instead of turning to Quinn, Finn turns to Puck and punches him squarely in the jaw, causing the mohawked boy to stumble back into Quinn, who easily catches him and settles him.

They all gasp. Rachel shouts an angry "Finn Hudson!" She begins to pull at Finn's arm as he grabs hold of Puck, bringing them face to face.

"Dude let go of me!" Puck says, shoving Finn's hands off of him. Rachel walks up to Puck and touches his jaw lightly, inspecting it with worried brown eyes. Quinn glares at Finn over Rachel's shoulder, her hands on her hips, mimicking Santana and Brittany.

"I was right! It was Puck!" Finn roars as Rachel cheeks over Puck's jaw.

"What the hell are you going on about?" Puck shouts back, lightly brushing Rachel's worrying hands off of him. Quinn grabs hold of Rachel's hand and pulls her behind her, protecting her from the angry Finn.

"You and Rachel!" Finn shouts, grabbing the attention of lingering Students "You two were fucking each other behind my back, weren't you!" He shoves Puck back.

"Finn, I told you, I didn't sleep with them, I only kissed them" Rachel says from behind Quinn.

Finn glares over at Rachel and points a finger in her direction. Quinn quickly makes a stand, trying to make herself seem bigger than normal in order to protect Rachel. "Why don't you just admit it was Puck already! Stop saying them! I know it's Puck! You kept on looking at him as I spoke to you!"

"Dude I would never do anything with Rachel! She's like a little sister to me!" Puck says, pushing Finn back away from them.

"Stop lying to me!" Finn roars, tears flowing down his angry face. Quinn feels guilty, knowing that it was her that Rachel cheated on Finn with, knowing she's the one causing him the pain he's feeling right now.

"You both laughed at me behind my back! Making me look like a fool!"

"Finn, I promise you, it wasn't Puck!"

Finn shakes his head angrily. Quinn quickly steps forward before he could make a move towards Puck and places a clam hand on his chest, gently pushing him back "Finn, you need to leave" she says calmly.

"This doesn't concern you Quinn" Finn says, his voice less angry and more pained.

'_Actually it concerns me a lot' _Quinn thinks. She keeps her voice calm as she speaks "It does when my friends are in danger of getting harmed, including you. Now, go calm down before you do something you'll regret"

Finn looks down at her, his expression completely broken. Quinn's heart breaks a little for him, knowing that in his own way, Finn loved Rachel and now what he believed to be true with them is now false. With a final glare in Rachel's direction, Finn walks away, punching a locker on his way out.

All of them relax, breathing heavily as they try to calm their racing hearts down. Santana and Brittany quietly comfort Puck and Rachel; fist bump Quinn and walk away, leaving the three of them alone.

"Quinn, you didn't have to do that" Puck says with a softness Quinn has rarely heard him use.

Quinn shakes her head "I wasn't about to let you take the blame for what I did with Rachel. I wasn't going to let you take a beating for me."

"Thank you Quinn" Rachel quietly says from beside her. "You didn't have to protect us like that"

Quinn turns to Rachel, resisting the urge to touch the smaller girl's cheek "I always protect those I love" She whispers so only Rachel can hear before nodding at Puck and walking down the hall.

When Quinn turns the corner she leans up against the lockers and takes a deep breath. She slides down to the floor as her tears fall as the weight of everything that just happens comes crashing down on her.

* * *

Quinn places the last of the dishes on the drying rack and dries her hands. She leans against the kitchen sink and looks at her feet, sighing to herself. Once again, her Mum's drinking herself into oblivion on the couch, leaving Quinn to sort out dinner and to wash everything up.

Quinn pushes herself off of the counter and walks into the sitting room, finding Judy swaying in her spot on the couch, the wine bottle she had with her now replaced with a vodka bottle. Quinn frowns at the sight and squats down in front of Judy. She reaches out and grabs hold of the vodka bottle, only to have Judy rip it out of her grasp.

"You're too young for this Quinnie" Judy slurs, uncapping the bottle and taking a swig. She's forgone even using a glass now.

"Mum please" Quinn pleads, making a move to grab the vodka bottle again "You need to stop"

"No I do not!" Judy shouts "Have you lost the love of your life Quinnie? Hmmm? Have you?" Judy taunts, swinging the bottle about "No you haven't, so you can shut up about whether I need to stop or not. You're not hurting like I am!" She smacks her hand down on the leather of the couch, causing Quinn to jump and stand back.

She feels tears spring to her eyes as her Mum's words hit her where it hurts the most. She holds them back though when the doorbell rings. She looks through the peephole and sigs, only opening the door wide enough to fit her head through.

"Now's not really a good time Rachel" Quinn says gently, making sure the living room is obscured from Rachel's view. She smiles softly as she spots a plate of cookies in Rachel's hands.

Rachel tries to glance at what Quinn is hiding for a second but shrugs it off "I just wanted to bring you round some 'Thank You' cookies. Normally, they're 'I'm sorry' cookies, which they could be in this situation, but they're mainly to say thank you for when you stuck up for Puck and I today" She holds the plate out to Quinn who takes them and opens the door a little wider so she can deposit them on the table by the door.

"Thank you Rachel" Quinn says "I'll see you tomorrow" She begins to close the door, only to have Rachel put her hand out and stop her from doing so.

"Wait! I also came over to see if-"

"Quinnie!" Judy shouts, interrupting Rachel "Who's at the door?" She asks, stumbling into the threshold.

"Is that your Mum?" Rachel asks.

Quinn sighs and holds the door open, allowing Rachel to finally come in "It's Rachel, Mum"

Rachel gasps at the sight on the intoxicated Judy. The older woman stumbles over to Rachel, the vodka bottle swinging about in her hand.

"Rachel, sweetie! I haven't seen you in a while" she slurs, pulling Rachel into a hug.

Quinn watches ashamed as Rachel scrunches up her nose at the stench of alcohol oozing from Judy. She's so embarrassed and ashamed of Judy. She never once thought she ever would be ashamed of her Mum, but here she is.

"Yes it has, Judy"

"I think it's time for you to go to bed Mum" Quinn says, trying to get Judy away from Rachel so Rachel won't have to see a lot of her intoxicated Mum.

"I decide when it's time to go to bed. I am your mother, you are not my mother so you have not right to tell me what to do" Judy sways on the spot, staring a Quinn, her eyes darting left and right of her as if she's trying to focus on three of Quinn at a time.

"Quinnie, why is there three of you?" Judy asks before promptly passing out onto the ground.

Rachel gasps softly, looking up at Quinn in worry.

Quinn, however, does not show any emotion as she begins her nightly cycle once again. Without acknowledging Rachel, Quinn picks her Mum off from the floor and carries her up the stairs, Rachel trailing closely behind her. She removes Judy's socks and tucks her into the bed and goes to remove the bottle from Judy's grip.

Judy seems to wake up as soon as she feels someone tug on the bottle. "No" She says, attempting to sit up.

"Mum" Quinn desperately pleads, tugging on the bottle.

Judy shakes her head side to side and un-caps the bottle, taking a long sip and re-capping it, still trying to take it out of Quinn's grasp.

"Let go" Quinn says, knowing that Rachel is watching this from the doorway.

"Get off me!" Judy shouts before smacking Quinn across the face.

Quinn hears Rachel gasps behind her. She bites her lip to reign in the tears threatening to spill over as the sting on her cheek seems to burn like a fire. She looks up and notices Judy's passed out once again and removes the bottle from her loose grip. She brushes past Rachel without a word and grabs water and aspirin and once again places it on Judy's bedside table.

When she walks out of the room, she locks eyes with a worried Rachel. Keeping her face void of any emotion, Quinn clears her throat.

"You should go" Quinn whispers, her voice cold.

"Quinn, talk to me-"

"Please" Quinn pleads, turning to look at Rachel with desperation in her eyes. It's as if someone flipped a switch once Rachel started talking to her. She wants the brunette to just leave and forget about what she's seen, though, knowing Rachel, the brunette won't be forgetting this anytime soon.

Rachel nods and reluctantly leaves the Fabray home.

That night, no one climbs into Quinn's bed and holds her.

Quinn crumbles to pieces.

* * *

Judy Fabray awakens with a pounding headache and a bleary vision. She groans to herself, hitting her hand against her forehead, trying to beat the headache out of her brain. She promised herself she wasn't going to do this again, not to Quinnie. But when she walked past Russell's study and smelt the familiar smell of his aftershave, the pain came back full force and she broke out the wine bottle.

She did plan on stopping; she only needed one to hide the pain. But then she saw Russell's favourite pen lying on the kitchen counter top, knowing that Quinn had used it to write her note this morning. So she carried on drinking, knowing she was bringing her daughter even more pain, and in turn, bringing herself pain.

But as she turns her head to the side and sees the familiar glass of water and aspirin and no note, she knows something happened last night that wasn't the same. She can just feel inside her gut that she did something to harm Quinn in some way. And so, Judy springs out of bed, ignoring the way her head screams at her not to and rushes down the stairs, pausing when she spots Quinn still sitting at the breakfast bar, munching on a bowl of cereal.

It's odd because the past few times, Quinn had been gone by the time she awoke. Maybe her waking up so early was a way of her body telling her to fix things.

"Quinnie?" She says attentively, noticing the way Quinn freezes and her body tenses. It makes her stomach drop.

As she approaches her daughter, bile begins to rise in her throat. Across Quinn's left cheek, although concealed by makeup, is the faint mark of a blue and purple hand print. Judy gasps, tears springing to her eyes. When she raises her hand to touch the mark, Quinn flinches. Judy's stomach plummets and her hand to drop down by her side. Quinn looks up at with nervous eyes.

"Oh Quinnie I'm so sorry" Judy finally whispers, tears flowing down her face "I'm so sorry" she says, taking a seat next to Quinn.

Quinn watches Judy's movements warily and swallows the cereal in her mouth, not saying anything.

"I never thought I would hurt you, I never wanted to be _that_ parent. Your Farther firmly stated on the day of your birth that you'll never receive any physical punishment from us. Even thought this wasn't a punishment" Judy cries, wanting to desperately place her hand on top of Quinn's but knows Quinn is somewhat like a squirrel right now, any sudden movements and she'll jump away.

Quinn pushes away from the table, her stool scraping across the tiles. She stands and grabs her bag from the counter "I'm going to school" She says, her voice cold.

Judy whimpers at the tone, watching as Quinn walks out of the house, grabbing her skateboard along the way.

As soon as the front door slams shut, Judy's made a decision. No more is she going to drown herself in alcohol. No more is she going to put Quinn in any danger. No more is she going to neglect her child. Russell would be ashamed of her.

After a quick shower, Judy runs round the house, collecting every empty alcohol bottle she can find, every wine and whiskey glass-leaving the collectables Russell used to get- and deposits them in the glass bin. Next she raids the home, collecting all of the alcohol in the home. She grabs the wine from the cellar, the whiskey in Russell's office, pushing back the need to grab a glass and have some as the smell of Russell's aftershave hits her once again.

She reaches between the couch cushions, grabbing the small bottles of vodka and tequila she's hidden there. She grabs bottles from behind the books, the TV and under the coffee table. She grabs them from her wardrobe, the shower unit in the bathroom; she grabs them from every place in the house.

She then pours every single drop of alcohol down the drain, placing the empty bottles with the others and drives to the glass recycling bins, getting rid of every empty bottle. She ignores the judgemental looks from passer-bys and focuses on ridding herself of the toxin.

Next she knocks on the Berry residence, waiting for Hiram to open the door before finally breaking down. She informs him of what's been happening, what happened the night before. She's shocked to find out that he already knows, having had Rachel inform them of the incident as soon as she walked through their door. Judy then apologizes profusely to Hiram for having his baby girl witness what she did, which he forgive her for.

He then talks to her about some AA meetings that the hospital Leroy works at runs. He hands her the leaflets, consoling her when she tears up again over everything that happened.

Judy leaves the Berry house with a new goal in her hands. To stop the drinking and become Quinn's mother again.

Judy sits in the sitting room much like last night, a glass in her hands as she looks over the leaflets Hiram handed her. When she hears the front door slam shut, she places her glass on the table and clears her throat.

"Quinn" She gently calls out.

She hears Quinn's sneakers squeak to a stop before the make their way into the living room. She notices the way Quinn's eyes immediately spot the glass of water sitting on the table.

"It's water" Judy says, picking up the glass and holding it out to Quinn "If you don't believe me, taste"

A little part of her breaks when Quinn drops her bag, walks over and takes the glass in her hands. Of course Quinn won't trust her at the moment.

When Quinn takes a sip, her eyebrows rise high on her forehead "You're not drunk" She says, her voice the same tone as it was in the morning. She hands it back to Judy and spies the leaflets spread out on the coffee table.

Judy notices where Quinn's gaze has moved to and stands up "I'd like to talk to you about a few things Quinn, if that's okay?" She asks.

Quinn nods and takes a seat in the armchair opposite the couch. Judy frowns at the fact Quinn didn't sit next to her but brushes it off.

"After last night, and all the other nights, I've decided to join an AA group." She smiles when Quinn looks at her in shock "I haven't been a very good mother to you Quinnie, not since your Farther died. Instead of looking after you and seeing how you were feeling, I drank away my own pain. I was selfish and I'm so sorry"

Quinn purses her lips "You're right. You were selfish"

Judy nods, knowing that she deserves what Quinn is saying, but that fact doesn't make it hurt any less.

"But if you really are going to go these meetings-"

"I also got rid of every source of alcohol in the house"

"Behind the TV?" Judy nods "Bookcase?" Judy nods "Between the couch cushions" another nod. "Okay, so if you are going to these meetings and getting rid of the alcohol-"

"I'm also going to look into starting the florist business. Bring money into the household"

"And that" Quinn says in shock "Then I forgive you"

Tears well up in Judy's eyes once again "Really?"

Quinn nods "Really" she says with a smile and gets up from the armchair.

"Oh Quinn" Judy says before Quinn leaves the room "If you ever want to talk about your Dad, all you have to do is say"

Quinn nods and says a quiet "Okay" before walking up the stairs.

Judy leans back and smiles. She picks up one of the leaflets and begins to read through it, sipping on her glass of water.

Sometime later, Quinn rejoins Judy and once again sits in the seat opposite her. Judy puts down the third leaflet she was reading and notices the book and pen Quinn has in her hands. She raises a questioning eyebrow, a trait Quinn had picked up on early in her life, and smiles.

Quinn clears her throat "I was wondering...if maybe...you could tell me about Dad? What his life was like and how you two met?" Quinn scratches the back of her neck "It's for...for the song I'm writing for my NYADA audition. I want it to be about him"

Judy smiles at her daughter and sits forward "Of course sweetheart" Judy says.

Quinn smiles and opens her book, her pen poised at the ready as she awaits her Mum to tell her the tale.

"Where shall I begin?" Judy questions herself "Do you wish to know everything? Your farther and I told each other everything"

Quinn nods "Yeah" she says with a smile "I'd love to"

Judy clears her throat "Well, it all starts on the sixth of May, 1962..."

And as Judy tells the story of Russell Fabray to her daughter, she has a feeling that things from now on are going to get better for them both. She revels in the laughter she hears from Quinn's mouth as she tells her a story of Russell and herself and drinks in the smile that radiates from her daughter.

Life is surely going to get better for them.

* * *

**End of the chapter! I hope this makes up for the long wait.**

**I can't wait to hear what you guys thought!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xx**


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys. So here is the next chapter.**

**Yeah so updates will be less regular from now on as I'm starting to work on a script that I'm beginning to plan out. I have also began writing the next chapter to The New Norm, but only like one page worth of good material. I'm really struggling to write that chapter so I apologise to those who are waiting for the update.**

**Anyway, thank you all for reviewing! They were so nice to read.**

* * *

Quinn breathes heavily as she passes the ball between her feet, she weaves in and out of the cones, her eyes set on the goal in front of her. She dribbles towards a bar she's placed in front of the door and kicks the ball up. She vaults over the bar and allows the ball to land on her chest and hit the ground before carrying on dribbling it. When she gets a few feet away from the goal, she kicks her foot with all her power, watching as the black and white ball flies into the net.

She pants happily, beads of sweat trickling down her face. Quinn licks her lips, grimacing slightly at the taste of salt on them and grabs the ball, moving to put in the bag with the others.

"Quinn?"

Quinn spins round, a cone in her hand and smiles. Rachel stares at her with curiosity and glances around the pitch, taking note of the obstacle course Quinn created.

"What are you doing here?" Rachel asks.

Quinn picks up the rest of the cones and the bar "Practising"

"Soccer practice was this morning. School finished two hours ago"

"Why are you still here?" Quinn asks, pulling her cleats off and lugging the soccer ball bag over her shoulder. She picks up her boots and begins to walk back towards the lockers, Rachel following her.

"Glee"

Quinn nods and places her cleats down on the bench. She puts the equipment away and walks over to her locker. She rubs an arm across her forehead, grimacing at the feeling of dirt and grit rubbing across her arm.

"How was it?"

"Terrible! Mr Schue refused to listen to me. He doesn't want us to start looking at a set list for regionals instead he wants to do some stupid assignment..."

When Quinn removes her t-shirt and Rachel doesn't bat an eye lid, the blonde realises that she's now set Rachel off on a rant. Quinn removes her shorts and grabs a towel and toiletries. She chuckles to herself when Rachel continues talking and follows her to the bathroom, stopping outside the cubicle as Quinn showers.

"He doesn't understand that we have to start planning now. Vocal Adrenaline knew their Regionals set list about two weeks before Sectionals! They're probably working on their nationals right now! But I digress, he doesn't even know..."

Quinn steps out of the cubicle, her hair wet and body clean. Once again, Rachel doesn't seem to notice and follows Quinn back to the lockers.

"Then he went on to say about us becoming closer. I personally don't understand that as with the way you guys have dated, it's a tiny bit incestuous..."

Quinn sighs and walks forward "Rachel"

"Puck had sex with Santana who's been with Brittany. Brittany's been with Artie, kissed Mike and Rory..."

"Rachel"

"Artie's been with Sugar who's also dated Rory. Rory apparently admitted to Puck about liking Tina..."

"Rachel"

"And Tina's been with Mike who has also been with Santana. Santana's been with Finn..."

"Rach"

"And Finn's been with you and me. And you've..."

Rachel's rant is finally stopped when she feels Quinn's lips press against hers. It's only a peck, but both girls can't help but feel elated at finally being able to feel each other's lips again.

The kiss seems to bring Rachel out of the rant she had and she finally notices Quinn's dripping hair and towel wrapped body. Her mouth opens and closes comically and she backs out of the room.

"I'll um, just be...um...waiting" She stammers out before scurrying off.

* * *

Quinn pulls the car up in between their houses, a smirk playing on her face as she glances over at Rachel who hasn't stopped blushing all the way back. Quinn bites her lip to stop herself from laughing and turns to look outside.

Rachel clears her throat "Thank you for the lift Quinn."

"You're welcome."

"I'm also sorry for what happened in the locker room-"

Quinn chuckles softly and grabs Rachel's hand "Don't worry. At least I got something out of it"

Rachel peers up at Quinn from under her eye lashes "What's that?"

"To shut you up whilst you're on a rant, all I have to do is" Quinn leans forward, her head tipping against Rachel's.

"What?" Rachel breathes against her lips, itching to attach herself to the pink pillows hovering close to her.

Quinn's lips very lightly brush Rachel's "Kiss you"

"Quinnie!"

The girls jump apart at the sound of Judy calling Quinn's name and tapping her fist against the window. Quinn groans softly and turns to look out her window, spotting the shit eating grin Judy is wearing. Quinn narrows her eyes.

She planned to interrupt them.

Quinn and Rachel both exit the car and close their doors simultaneously. Quinn leans against her car door and folds her arms over her chest glaring at her Mum. Judy merely smiles at her and looks at Rachel.

"Hello Rachel"

"Hello Judy. How are you?"

"I'm well thank you. Yo don't mind if I take my daughter into our home do you?" Judy asks.

Rachel seems hesitant, her eyes darting to Quinn's still bruised cheek. Judy feels guilt hit her in the chest as she too looks at the bruise. Finally, Rachel nods and walks off to her own home, sending a wave Quinn's way.

Quinn waves back then glares at her giddy Mum "What?" She snaps.

Judy doesn't seem fazed by Quinn's rudeness and instead grabs Quinn's hand and pulls her into the house. She sits her down on the settee and sits next to her.

"Tell me everything" She says.

Quinn looks at Judy like she's grown a third head. Why is she acting like a thirteen year old? "I-What?"

"Oh come one" Judy scoots closer to Quinn "I saw you two sitting in the car. You had the same smile on your face your Farther had every time he kissed me. Now tell me"

Quinn rolls her eyes "First of all, I do not want to know what expression Dad pulled when ever with you. And secondly, why do you want to know?"

"Because like you, I made a promise to your father. He asked me to make sure you are happy and that girl" Judy gestures to the side of them "Is going to make you happy."

"You really want to know?" Judy nods "She followed me into the locker room showers, rambling on about Glee. I needed to change but she wouldn't shut up and didn't seem to notice so I kissed her"

"So" Judy scoots closer "Are you taking her out on a date?"

Quinn rubs the back of her neck "I haven't asked her yet. Puck and I are working on one of the songs I wrote for me to sing to her"

Judy perks up and stands up "Let me help"

"What? No!"

"Oh come on darling! It will be fun!"

"But-Can you compose music?" Quinn asks standing up.

Judy raises her eyebrow "Sweetie, you didn't get your music skills from your father. He could barely dance"

* * *

Quinn swings the door open, looking at Puck in relief. He smiles at her, a paint can hanging from his hand.

"You said you needed help?"

"Thank god!" Quinn says pulling Puck into the house. "My mum hasn't stopped trying to help me with Rachel. She's been adding her own things to the song and it's driving me crazy!"

Puck nods "Why did you ask me to bring these?"

"I have a plan for the date with Rachel. We're going to complete the tree house by tonight"

Puck scratches the back of his head and looks down at his watch "It's five o'clock. We won't be done until ten"

Quinn nods "I don't care, just as long as we get this done"

And so the two of them got to work. In and out of the house they went, exchanging tools, taking drinks offered by Judy who watched them with amusement. Laughing (Quinn), when one of them smacked a hammer down onto their thumb, and had to have Judy bandage it up (Puck). Both sputter when saw dust lands in their mouth or they drop a screw on their forehead whilst trying to hammer the roof of the tree house on.

"Stop, stop!" Quinn says hurriedly, staring up at the light shining from Rachel's bedroom. The sun is just about starting to set, slowly encasing the backyard in darkness.

Puck stills his movements, watching the room with Quinn. Their breaths hitch when Rachel moves into their view. Both leer as Rachel removes her shirt, revealing strong back muscles to them.

"Dude, she wasn't wearing a bra today!" Puck says in excitement.

When Rachel moves away and the light switches off, Quinn turns to Puck and smacks him round the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For leering!" Quinn hisses, continuing on with placing the carpet flooring down, pushing Puck's feet out of the way.

"you were leering too!" Puck exclaims.

"I was not" Quinn huffs indignantly "I was admiring her"

"Fuck off!" Puck says with a laugh "you were thinking about her legs being wrapped around your neck"

Quinn blushes, Puck had correctly guessed what she was thinking about. She crosses her arms over her chest.

"If Rachel knew what you were saying, shed be horrified"

Puck laughs "First of all, it's not just what I'm saying but what you are thinking. Secondly, you and I both know that Rachel would be flattered"

Quinn nods, knowing what Puck said is true.

"Flattered about what?"

Quinn and Puck both freeze at the sound of Rachel's voice and poke their head out of the small window they had built, seeing Rachel standing on the other side of the fence in her own backyard.

"Nothing" Puck quickly says.

Rachel purses her lips, obviously not convinced but shrugs "What are you two doing in there?"

Both blanch at the question, not knowing what to say.

"Making out!" Puck suddenly says. He ducks when Quinn goes to hit him.

Rachel raises her eyebrow and scoffs "Right, and Finn's smart" She pauses, her eyes noticing the empty paint cans and hammers lying around "You're building without me!"

Quinn quickly climbs down from the tree house, walking up to the fence. She frowns slightly at Rachel's angry expression "It's not what it looks like"

"So you're telling me you are just making out not building the tree house despite the screws and hammers and paintbrushes and paint on your cheek?"

"No, that's not what I meant-"

"So you decided to lie to me?"

"No Rach-"

"Did you not want to hang out with me?" Rachel asks, hurt evident in her voice "Did you not enjoy spending time with me?"

Quinn steps as close as she can to the fence, but Rachel takes a step back, wrapping her arms around her body "Of course I did" Quinn looks up at Puck still in the tree house "It's just, I really needed to do this with Puck only"

"Why?"

"I can't tell you"

Rachel licks her lips nervously "Why not?"

"I just can't. I needed Puck to help, not you"

Rachel takes a step back, hurt flaring up in her eyes. Rachel laughs harshly to herself and shakes her head "God I'm so stupid" she laughs again "Of course you wouldn't want to hang out with me, why would you? I'm just some freak who can't look at herself in the mirror without scratching at herself"

"No don't think like that. You're not stupid and you're not a freak" Quinn says pleadingly "Rachel believe me when I say I didn't do this to hurt you. Neither of us did. I just really needed to not have your help"

Rachel laughs coldly again, having not listened to Quinn "I'm such an idiot. I can't believed that I really thought you" Rachel trails off and shakes her head.

"Thought I what?" Quinn hoists herself over the fence, walking towards Rachel "Loved you?" she says softly "I do Rachel. Don't you remember what I said to you?"

Rachel turns her back on Quinn "I do. I just don't believe it" she says before walking back into her house.

Quinn turns round and volts back over the fence, Puck meets her at the bottom of the treehouse, a sad smile on his face.

"Don't worry. When you sing the song to her tomorrow, she can't not believe you"

Quinn sighs and grabs a paintbrush "Let's hope so."

* * *

"Mr Schue I strongly suggest that we start looking at a set list for Regionals!" Rachel says from her seat, becoming increasingly aggravated by her teacher.

This is seriously starting to annoy her. Mr Schue just doesn't want to hear anything from her, like she's just an extra voice they can use. She hates it, he treats her unequally despite the fact how Glee is meant to be equal. Bloody hypocrite.

"For the last time Rachel, no. We have plenty of time-"

"That's the thing, we don't!" Rachel interrupts the teacher and gets up from her seat, moving to the middle of the room "Regionals is three weeks away. Vocal Adrenaline will most probably have their set list engraved into their mind by now. They are probably beginning to work on their set list for Nationals."

"Why? They don't even know if they've won" Mr Schue says, looking at Rachel in annoyance.

"Because they are so confident that they will win their regionals. We knew out set list for Sectionals when we won Nationals last year"

"I'm sorry, but why exactly are you telling us this Rachel? It means nothing to us"

"It should! If you want to win Regionals and Nationals, you can't think of a set list in the green room ten minutes before you're on stage! The routines should be known like the back of our hands by then. The set list should be final, not just thrown together at the last minute"

"I appreciate your concern Rachel, but we will be fine, we got to Nationals last year-"

"But you didn't win. Why? Because you were stupid enough to allow New Directions to arrive unprepared!" Rachel now turns to Mr Schue with her hand on her hips, glaring at him.

"Now listen hear-"

"Rachel's right"

All heads in the room whip towards the door where Quinn stands with her guitar case in her hand. She walks into the room, stepping between Mr Schue and Rachel.

"Quinn. You're back" Mr Schue says with surprise.

Quinn doesn't reply to his surprise "Rachel is right. We can't avoid doing the set list this year. You should listen to her, she was in Vocal Adrenaline for three years, having won Nationals each year."

"That may be true but in case you have forgotten, I have also won Nationals with this school's glee club"

Rachel scoffs and rolls her eyes marching off to her seat. She watches Quinn with the rest of the group, watching as the blonde places her guitar case on the ground and takes a step closer to their teacher.

"Fifteen years ago. Time has changed Mr Schue. We can't win on a whim."

"I am the teacher, what I say goes" Mr Schue says, trying to take on a tone of Authority.

Quinn tilts her head to the side "Last time I checked, Glee was, as well as this country, was a Democracy, not a dictatorship"

"What are you saying Quinn?"

"We put it to a vote" Quinn clears her throat and turns to the group "Those who think Rachel is right, raise your hand"

Every hand shoots up, including Finn's. Quinn looks over at Mr Schue and raises her eyebrow, questioning him to argue. He purses his lips.

"Fine, okay, we'll look at a set list"

Quinn smiles and walks up to her teacher, talking lowly so only he can hear her "If you don't mind Mr Schue, I have something I'd like to perform"

Her teacher smiles and places a hand on her back "Of course" He turns to the group "Quinn has something she's like to perform for you guys"

Quinn nods and takes out her guitar, pulling a stool to the middle of the room "It's not for all of you. Just for one person"

Rachel's breath hitches when Quinn looks over at her and continues to speak "This person has helped me a lot these past couple of weeks. They made me happy again after what has happened, they made me believe in myself. This is my thank you and apology to them"

Rachel notices Finn turn round and look at her, his face scrunched up in confusion as Quinn begins to strum, her eyes not leaving Rachel.

"_Your hand fits in mine like it's made just for me_

_But bear this mind it was meant to be_

_And I'm joining up the dots with the freckles on your cheeks_

_And it all makes sense to me"_

Rachel bites her lip, trying to fight the smile threatening to break out on her face. She looks down at her lap, ignoring the look Finn is sending her.

_"I know you've never loved_

_The crinkles by your eyes_

_When you smile_

_You've never loved_

_Your stomach or your thighs_

_The dimples in your back_

_At the bottom of your spine_

_But I'll love them endlessly"_

She feels someone nudge her side and she looks up, locking eyes with a smiling Puck. He nods his head towards Quinn, silently telling her to look over. Rachel does so, her heart skipping a beat at the love shining in Quinn's bright hazel eyes. The blonde closes her eyes as she gets to the chorus but Rachel doesn't remove her gaze.

_"I won't let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you_

_Oh it's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all these little things"_

She can't stop the smile breaking out onto her face upon hearing Quinn sing to her, about her and how much she loves her. Quinn opens her eyes once more, her own smile pulling on her face.

_"You can't go to bed_

_Without a song or three_

_And maybe that's the reason_

_That you talk in your sleep_

_And all those conversations_

_Are the secrets that I keep_

_Though it makes no sense to me"_

Rachel chuckles, shocked that Quinn has picked up on so many things about her. She always sings a song before bed as it helps her wind down, if she's particularly excited, it takes more. She shakes her head when Quinn beams and winks at her, her fingers moving effortlessly up and down the fret board.

_"I know you've never loved the sound of your voice on tape_

_You never want to know how much weigh_

_You still have to squeeze into your jeans_

_But you're perfect to me"_

As Quinn goes back into the chorus, Rachel noticed the way Finn keeps on looking between the two of them, his face filled with suspicion. Panic surges through her, he's beginning to figure it out. She bites her lip nervously, anxiously waiting to see if Finn just dismisses the idea. When Quinn re-opens her eyes, Rachel is dragged away from looking at Finn to Quinn. Once again she smiles, adoring the blonde as she pours her heart out in front of their friends.

_"You'll never love yourself_

_Half as much as I love you_

_You'll never treat yourself right darlin'_

_But I want you to"_

Rachel looks down at her hands, spotting the scars she's made over the years and the fresh ones she made last night. A tear rolls down her cheek, knowing she shouldn't have done what she did, especially with Quinn asking her not to. But she was hurting, and the only way she could get rid of that hurt was by scratching. Puck grabs her hand and squeezes comfortingly.

_"I let you know_

_I'm here for you_

_Maybe you'll love yourself like I love you_

_Oh.."_

Rachel lifts her head when Puck moves from his chair, along with Artie, moving to stand by Quinn.

_"I won't let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you_

_It's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all your little things"__  
_  
Rachel's eyebrows rise to her hairline as Artie and Puck begin to sing with Quinn. Quinn's eyes stay on her, never moving from Rachel, her smile never falling. Rachel smiles softly as tears run down her face, her own love for Quinn swelling up in her chest, ready to burst out of her.

"_I won't let these little things_

_Slip out of my mouth_

_But if it's true_

_It's you_

_It's you_

_They add up to_

_I'm in love with you_

_And all your little things"_

Claps fill the choir room as the songends. Rachel claps the loudest her smile brightening the room as she stares at Quinn.

"That was great Quinn, I guess we'll never know who that was about-"

"Oh please everyone in this room knows who that was about." Santana says rolling her eyes.

Then Finn explodes.

"Quinn!" He shouts, standing up from his chair and turning to Rachel, hurt and anger in his eyes. "You cheated on me with Quinn?" He asks.

Rachel's mouth opens and closes wordlessly as she stares at the tall boy, dumbfound.

"See? Even Frankenteen knows" Santana says from the back.

"Tell me" Finn shouts, stepping closer to Rachel "It was Quinn, wasn't it? The one who you kissed"

Rachel swallows thickly and looks over at Quinn. Quinn only smiles at her calmly, silently telling her she doesn't have to answer him.

She looks back to Finn and nods once. She watches as Finn's face contorts into red hot anger. He growls angrily and kicks his chair. He rounds on Quinn and marches up to her.

"I can't believe you" He says "I thought we were friends" then he leaves the room, causing an air of awkward tension to linger.

Mr Schue claps his hands and dismisses the group, informing them they'll work on the set list next time and quickly escapes the room.

Everyone begins to pack up and leave the room, all smiling at Quinn and quietly telling her well done before leaving. Soon almost everyone is gone, apart from Rachel and Quinn.

Rachel slowly makes her way over to Quinn, taking the blonde's hands into her own. She licks her lips and looks up, smiling as soon as she sees Quinn's smile. She's so breathtakingly beautiful.

"Thank you"

"It was nothing, just a few words on paper" Quinn shrugs. She begins to swing their hands together.

"It wasn't nothing. It was amazing and wonderful. I loved it so much Quinn. So, so much"

Quinn smiles "I'm glad. In case you hadn't guessed, I wrote it for you-" Quinn pauses when she notices a wince cross Rachel's face when she rubs a certain part of her hand. Looking down, Quinn frowns, seeing fresh wounds on the tanned skin.

"Are these new?" Quinn asks softly.

Rachel goes to take her hands away, but Quinn tightens her grip. Rachel nods shyly, watching with slight fear as Quinn inspect the wounds. She gasps when Quinn lifts her hands up to her lips and presses a light kiss to her hands.

"Promise me you won't do it again?"

Rachel's heart swells. Instead of bombarding her with questions as to why she did it, Quinn just asks her a question that proves she cares. But looking into the sparkling hazel eyes staring at her, Rachel knows that Quinn didn't ask because she guessed why. Rachel frowns slightly at the sadness swimming in the iris's.

"Hey" Rachel says, placing her hand onto Quinn's cheek "It isn't your fault okay?" Quinn nods, leaning into Rachel's hand. Rachel then smiles brightly "Now, how about you take me on that date you've been waiting to ask me on?"

Quinn laughs "How did you know?" She asks as Rachel begins to lead them out of the room. She picks up her guitar, letting their hands swing between them.

"I don't know if I've told you but I'm-"

"A little psychic" Quinn says, smiling fondly at Rachel "I know"

"How do you know?"

"I listen"

With those two words, Rachel knows that any minute now, her heart is going to break out of her chest and punch Quinn in the face. She smiles brightly and happily walks out of the school with Quinn, excited for what's to come.

* * *

**Okay so there's the chapter. I apologise if you were disappointed with what happened and how there wasn't really that much going on. I just wanted it to be a little fluffy and up lifting because of the last few chapters.**

**Song used: Little Things – One Direction.**

**I like the song okay?**

**Thanks for reading and please review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey ho here she goes either a little too high and a little too low, got no self-esteem and vertigo, think she's made of candaaaayyyy! **

**Hello readers! I am very happy this evening as I got this chapter done earlier than I planned! Yay!**

**Thank you for the reviews on the last chapter! They were lovely to read.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

"I understand it's a late request sir" Quinn says into the phone "But I'm pleading that you can find some leeway"

Quinn pauses and listens to the man speak through the phone, her eyes focused on the window opposite her. She watches Rachel's silhouette move about in her bedroom, her eyes following the girl's movements.

"I know that demand can be quite high at this time of year, but there must be something you can sort out" Quinn bites down on her lip as Rachel strips off her t-shirt. How she wishes Rachel's curtains were sheer material.

"I'll double the normal price to rent it"

The man on the other end pauses in his huffing and Quinn smirks, knowing she's got him now. Hook, line and sinker.

"_I guess, I can make some arrangements_" The man says slowly "_I can squeeze you in on Monday, 3.30, no later, Ms Fabray._"

"Thank you!" Quinn says happily, ending the call.

She turns to her mirror and runs a hand down her dress, getting rid of any known creases. She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, moving to sort out her hair-band once again, making sure everything is absolutely perfect. She tugs on the denim jacket, pulling it tight against her body and turning to the side, inspecting herself out. She lets out a nervous breath and drops her hands, studying herself in the mirror.

Spotting a bit of mascara under her eye, Quinn leans forward and rubs it away, her heart beating chaotically as she checks her watch, seeing she has ten minutes until she needs to pick Rachel up. She moves to her bed and tugs on her laced up wedges, making sure the laces are tight enough and equal. She needs to be perfect for Rachel, show her she's not just some scruffy, guitar playing soccer player, but in fact, under the ripped jeans and faded tees, there is a woman.

Quinn checks her watch once more, grabs the book she placed on her bed then heads down the stairs. She pecks her Mum on the cheek, asking if everything is sorted out, upon getting an affirmative, she grabs her keys, the bouquet of flowers she picked up and rushes out of her house, turning up Rachel's drive way to her front door.

Her hands shake nervously as she wraps her fist against the door. Quinn's feet shits side to side as she patiently a waits the door to open.

"No Daddy I'll get it!" Quinn smiles upon hearing Rachel's voice from behind the door.

"Nonsense! It's customary for the father to open the door" Leroy's voice says.

"If that's the case then why are you the one to answer? I'm her father too!"

That's Hiram.

"Because you'll both threaten her life and I'd rather not have my date scared to death whilst we are on the date!" Rachel hisses, but Quinn still hears her and chuckles to herself.

"Oh shush you and replace that towel with actual clothes!" Quinn hears Leroy says, her cheeks growing red as she imagines Rachel stood in a towel, her cheeks showing a hint of blush from the heat of the shower water dripping from her hair, over her shoulder blade and between her-

"Hello Quinn"

Quinn shakes herself out of day dream, focusing on the creepy smile both Leroy and Hiram are sporting as they look at her. She clears her throat "Hello Sir's."

The two men smile at each other before stepping away from the door "Do come in" Hiram says, making room for Quinn to step through.

As she does, Quinn hears the door slam behind her and gulps. Suddenly, downstairs on her own with these two men. Even though Quinn has been in a room with Leroy and Hiram on her own before, she's never been scared before. But in this situation, both Men frighten Quinn greatly.

With Leroy being a tall, well built man and Hiram, although small, packing a lot of bite and a very strong personality-much like Rachel's-they are both incredibly intimidating, making Quinn, once in her life, feel very small.

"What lovely flowers!" Hiram gushes, eyeing the bouquet in Quinn's trembling hands. "Look Leroy, she picked Gardenias! She's already done better then that Hudson boy!" Hiram smiles brightly at Quinn.

Quinn forces a smile out, her face feeling tight with fear. She looks at Leroy who stares at her with a serious expression. She gulps once again, thinking that at any moment she's might pee herself from fear of Leroy.

"Hiram, do you mind checking on Rachel please? I have a feeling our little girl might be a little too excited to remember to put underwear on"

Quinn shuts her eyes , forcing back the images of seeing Rachel commando up her skirt.

_Now is not the time to be thinking of this Quinn, her Daddy is right there!_

_I know but my god if she were to be commando..._

_Hot I know, but stop thinking of it!_

_I can't!_

_He's going to know what you're thinking if you don't open your eyes_

_But the image is too good!_

_God dammit Quinn open your eyes!_

Quinn finally opens her eyes, locking onto the gray ones of Leroy. His lips are set in a straight line as he stares at her, looking at her up and down.

"Come with me Quinn" Leroy says, walking past her into the sitting room. Quinn follows him quickly, not wanting to upset the tall man.

Leroy stops suddenly, causing Quinn to almost bash into him. He turns smoothly on his feet and crosses his arms over his chest, eyeing Quinn.

"What are you intending on doing with my little girl on this date?" He asks.

Quinn glances about the room nervously, her eyes settling on photos of a young Rachel a few times before she looks back at Leroy. She remembers what her Dad once told her:

"_When talking to a girl's father, Quinn about his daughter, eye contact is key"_

"I'm not sure what you mean, sir"

"Well, what have you planned?"

"During the week, Noah Puckerman helped me in finishing the tree house-"

"A fact that upset Rachel" Leroy interrupts, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"And I feel incredibly guilty for not telling her. But he helped me sort it out for our date tonight. I plan on taking Rachel there"

"And what have you planned once you've got there?"

Quinn shifts on her feet and stands as tall as she can, trying to feel less small in front of Leroy, though she is bricking it "A meal, cooked by myself."

"Do you intend on sleeping with her?"

Quinn blanches at the strange question but recovers quickly, trying to look like he question hadn't caught her off guard "On a first date? Sir, I don't even kiss on a first date."

"I didn't just mean on the date, Quinn" Leroy takes a step forward, his expression still seriously, but his tone hinting on dangerous.

"Oh" Quinn bites her lip "I'm not going to lie to you Sir and say I don't desire your daughter in that way, because I do. She is incredibly beautiful, I'd find it hard to believe if someone doesn't. But I believe that Rachel is not ready for that step in her life yet and I most certainly think it's too early in our relationship to think about it. However, if Rachel were to be ready whilst I was with her and I am too, I promise you that I will treat her correctly."

Leroy nods "Go on" he says, somehow knowing Quinn wanting tell him more.

"But I won't just treat her correctly then. For as long as I am with Rachel, I will treat her like she is supposed to be treated. With respect, kindness and love. I can't say I won't ever hurt her, but I can say that I won't ever hurt her intentionally."

A smile breaks out on Leroy's face and a familiar friendliness appears once more as he pulls Quinn into a hug, minding the flowers "I knew you were a keeper!" He says joyfully.

Quinn hugs him back and steps away once he releases her "Thank you Sir"

"Oh you can stop with the Sir, Quinn. You've always called me Leroy before and you can still call me Leroy now."

Quinn smiles "Sorry Leroy. Dad always taught me to be polite to my date's parents"

"I understand"

"Daddy, I sure hope you haven't scared Quinn to Timbuktu. I'm sure she's nervous enough without you intimidating her!"

Quinn smiles as soon as she hears Rachel's voice and turns round. The air leaves her lungs as she looks over at her date.

Although she's dressed simply, Quinn still thinks Rachel's the most beautiful person she's ever laid eyes on. And sexy.

_So sexy_

Tight black jeans cover Rachel's long, toned legs, sticking to her like a second skin. A blue blouse fits around Rachel's torso, hugging her hips nicely and pushing her boobs up a little. Her hair falls in loose curls around her shoulders whilst soft, simple makeup adorns her face. All in all, Rachel Berry looks like sex on legs.

Quinn slowly makes her way over to Rachel, pleased that Rachel seems to be wearing the same expression Quinn was moments ago. She smirks when Rachel's eyes linger on her legs, happy that she chose a dress instead of wearing her normal jeans.

"You look beautiful" Quinn says, causing Rachel to look up and blush.

"So do you"

Quinn holds out the flowers in her hands and clears her throat, fully aware that Leroy and Hiram are watching the two girls closely.

"These are for you"

Rachel smiles brightly at Quinn and removes the flowers from Quinn's hands "Gardenias. My-"

"Favourite" Quinn finishes "I know"

If possible, Rachel's smile seems to grow brighter at Quinn words and she turns to Hiram "Dad, can you put these in some water for me?" Hiram smiles and nods, happily skipping-yes skipping-off to find a vase and water for them, Leroy following and saying goodbye to the girls.

Quinn holds out her arm to Rachel, waiting for the girl to grab her coat "Shall we?" She asks.

Rachel giggle-adorable-and loops her arm with Quinn's, shouting a goodbye to her fathers and allowing Quinn to lead her down the driveway to the blonde's car. She blushes when Quinn opens the passenger door for her before running round to her own side and getting in.

"Doth the lady wish to choose a tune to suit the drive?" Quinn asks, holding out her Ipod to Rachel.

Rachel laughs and takes the iPod "Were you not able to think of how to change that sentence into Shakespearian after 'doth'?" she asks, selecting a song and putting her seatbelt on.

Quinn laughs and puts the car into drive, turning away from the parking spot "Yeah, I ran out of steam there didn't I?"

"Your attempt was very adorable"

Quinn scoffs playfully "Adorable? I'm not adorable"

Rachel laughs, watching as houses pass them by "Oh you are Quinn."

"No"

"No?" Rachel raises an eyebrow and turns in her seat to look at Quinn.

"No" Quinn turns down a road, driving up to a set of traffic lights.

"Okay then, what does Quinn Fabray believe herself to be?"

"Well, Quinn Fabray is hot"

"Is that so?"

Quinn hums in response, smiling at Rachel and taking a left, turning back onto their street.

"And why does she believe herself to be so?"

"She does not believe she knows. All you have to do is look at her" She parks in front of her house and looks over at Rachel.

Rachel bites her lip, looking Quinn up and down before she shrugs "I don't see it" she teases, smiling flirtatiously at Quinn.

"I have it on good authority that a certain Rachel Berry thinks so"

Rachel laughs and looks away, noticing they've stopped "Why are we back at your house?" she asks.

Quinn only smiles at her, grabs a book placed on the dashboard and gets out of the car, moving to help Rachel out of her seat. She intertwines their fingers and leads Rachel to her backyard, stopping in front of the finished tree house.

"Up you go" Quinn says, placing Rachel in front of the ladder.

"Into the treehouse?"

Quinn smiles and nods, ushering Rachel up the ladder. She quickly follows her, her eyes focused on the wiggling bum in front of her.

_Rachel should wear jeans more often_

_Her bum looks so good in them_

_I agree. Maybe we can convince her to throw away those argyle skirts she always wears._

_What? No I love the argyle! It's cute. Plus her skirts always show off her tanned legs._

_She does have amazing legs_

_See?_

_She should still throw away the argyle, though_

_No_

Quinn pulls herself into the tree house, beaming at Rachel as the brunette takes in her surroundings, a look of awe and shock on her face.

Like they planned, sky blue paint adorns the wooden walls, with blue fairy lights placed neatly around the beams and brightens up the small tree house. Rachel can't help but compare the lighting to be similar to the colours of Pandora at night in _Avatar_. Black and white floor sofas and chairs are situated in the middle of the room, around a small floor table. Upon the table lies a picnic basket.

Quinn smiles as Rachel turns her attention to the walls, looking over the certificates that Russell had won and the trophies Quinn had won. Tanned fingers delicately run over photo frames of Quinn, Judy and Russell together, some of just Judy and Russell, some of only Russell and Quinn and others of just Russell. But she pauses when she comes to one photo situated between two photos of Quinn with Artie, Santana and Brittany.

It's a old photo of Quinn and Rachel, when they were friends in 1st grade. They're playing in Quinn's old playroom, which is now the spare room. Quinn has paint on her hands and a streak across her cheek, she's running after Rachel who's smiling widely, trying to get away from Quinn and her painted hands. Quinn and Rachel remember that day very well.

"_Come on Rachel, let me paint you!" a seven year old Quinn asks, her hands covered in pink paint._

_Rachel giggles, putting the finishing touches to her star. "No" She says, waving a paint brush in front of Quinn "People are not to be painted on"_

_Quinn pouts, looking from her blue dinosaur to Rachel's gold star. A plan pops into Quinn's head and she smiles innocently, moving her fingers across the table top like legs "Hey Rachel"_

"_Yes Lucy?" Rachel asks, watching as Quinn's fingers leave pink finger splodges on the table as her fingers move closer to Rachel's drawing._

"_Can you teach me how to paint like you?" As her finger is about to touch Rachel's painting, the little brunette quickly swipes the painting away._

"_Of course" Rachel smiles brightly and grabs another piece of paper, placing it in front of Quinn, she attempts to shoo Quinn's dirty hands away but the tiny blonde is relentless "Lucy, I can't show you how to paint if you keep your hands in the way!" _

_Quinn smiles "You mean like...this!" She attempts to wipe paint across Rachel's face, but misses as Rachel jumps out of her seat in time. Quinn quickly follows her._

"_Rachel!" Quinn shouts playfully, stalking towards Rachel like a lioness hunting her prey._

"_No, Lucy, don't" Rachel says, slowly backing away. She turns and begins to run, Quinn roars playfully and chases her, their giggles filling the room._

_Judy and Russell watch in amusement as the two girls play about. Judy looks at Russell and pulls out a camera, smiling at him. He gladly takes the camera and snaps a photo before going into the room and stopping his messy daughter from getting paint on Rachel._

Rachel chuckles to herself and places the picture back onto the wall before turning round and looking at Quinn "I remember when your hair was short and choppy"

Quinn shakes her hair about, furrowing her eyebrows together "It's still short"

"Yeah but it's not choppy like it was when we were younger. It was choppy when you first got it cut short, but now the choppiness has grown out" Rachel pouts, playing with a bit of Quinn's straight, short hair in between her fingers.

"I'll think about that when I get my hair cut next" Quinn takes Rachel's hand into her own and leads her over to the floor couches. She tugs on Rachel's hand to sit next to her and begins to take out the contents of the picnic basket.

Many boxes of tupperware come out of the picnic basket, tubs of hummus, carrot sticks, vegan cookies, vegan fajitas, guacamole are just a few of what Quinn unpacks. Rachel's eyes widen as Quinn continues to remove tub after tub of food.

Quinn turns to Rachel with a sheepish expression "I didn't know which to make so I made them all"

"You cooked these?" Rachel asks, shock evident in her face.

Quinn nods "Most of them. Apart from the Hummus, Guacamole and Babaganoush, they're store bought but Vegan, I checked."

Rachel doesn't answer, but she leans over the food to Quinn and pecks her softly on the lips. She tugs Quinn's bottom lip into her mouth, sucking on it as she pulls back, knowing how to leave the blonde wanting more. She waits for Quinn's eyes to flutter open and stare at her in awe.

"Thank you"

A smile pulls up on Quinn's lips "I told your Daddy I don't kiss on a first date" She whispers.

Rachel smirks, reaching for the carrot sticks "What he doesn't know won't hurt him" She says before biting into the carrot stick.

* * *

Empty Tupperware boxes litter the tree house floor as the two very full girls lie back on the settee's and stare up at the ceiling, hands of their satisfied bellies.

"I'm not one who normally eats Vegan food" Quinn says, earning a snort and eye roll from Rachel, Quinn ignores her "But that was pretty damn good"

Rachel hums and snuggles herself into Quinn's side "It was lovely, Quinn"

Quinn smiles at nothing and wraps her arm around Rachel, pulling the girl closer to her. She grabs hold of the book and holds it in front of Rachel.

"What's this?" Rachel asks, sitting up and taking the book from Quinn's hands.

"My lyrics book"

"Why have you handed it to me?"

Quinn shuffles closer to Rachel so their shoulders are touching "Because I want you to flick through there and pick out any song, apart from the one with a star next to it"

"Why not that one?" Rachel asks, still not opening the book, but instead looks at Quinn with a smile.

Quinn licks her lips and stares right back at Rachel, getting lost in the brown glistening eyes, lit up by the blue lighting.

_Good choice on the blue lights, Puck, very good choice._

"It's about my Dad and I'm singing it for Mrs Tibideaux when she comes to school"

Rachel nods and looks away from Quinn, opening up the lyrics book like it's an ancient piece of writing. Quinn watches patiently as Rachel flicks through page after page, her eyes thoroughly reading the lyrics, her eyebrows furrowing together as she does so. She pauses at the starred page and reads the lyrics.

Rachel looks back up at Quinn, tears in her eyes upon reading the lyrics and swallows thickly "It's a beautiful song, Quinn. Your Dad would be so proud" She cups Quinn's cheek, her thumb stroking the blue light tinted skin.

"Keep going" Quinn whispers, her voice low enough that only Rachel can hear her. The soft sway of leaves is the only sound in the tree house as Rachel turns page after page of lyrics.

Just as she's about to turn the page on one song, she pauses and looks back, re-reading the lyrics. A smile pulls up on Quinn's face as she spots the title of the song. Rachel looks up at Quinn, her eyes wide and she points at the page "Is this the song you sang to me in the cabin?"

Quinn nods and Rachel swallows, her eyes flicking down momentarily before looking back up at Quinn "These songs...who are they about?"

Quinn tilts her head to the side and moves closer to Rachel. She leans back on her hand so her chest if flush against Rachel's side "Guess"

Rachel doesn't want to say it, just in case she's wrong. She'd be so embarrassed if she was. "I-I can't"

"Yes you can. You have an idea so tell me Rachel" Quinn moves her face closer to Rachel's, her lips ghosting across the Brunette's cheek "Who are these about?"

"M-me?"

Soft lips brush against her cheek again before one word is softly spoken against her ear "Yes"

The lyric book bounces to the floor as Rachel attacks Quinn with her lips, sending the blonde onto her back. Rachel straddles Quinn's hips, her hands running through blonde locks, tugging Quinn closer to her as their lips connect together.

A moan escapes Rachel's mouth when Quinn sucks her tongue into the blonde's mouth, sucking on the pink muscle gently. Quinn's right hand cups Rachel's jaw, whilst her left holds onto the petite brunette's hip, tugging their bodies closer together.

Rachel breaks away from the kiss, pecking Quinn's lips a few times before resting their foreheads together, their breathes melding together. Rachel licks her lips, tasting Quinn's strawberry lip gloss on her own lips and smiles. Rachel untangles her hands from Quinn's hair and slide around Quinn's neck, playing with the strands of hair at the nape of her neck.

"I love you"

Quinn pulls back from Rachel, shock on her face. Rachel holds her hand to her mouth, her eyes widening in fear at what she just admitted. Panic builds within her as Quinn continues to stare at her in shock, blinking slowly as if she doesn't believe she really heard it. A chuckle then leaves Quinn's lips and the blonde shakes her head.

Rachel drops her hand from her mouth and stares at the blonde in complete confusion, why is she laughing?

"The food must have made my hearing go all funny because I'm pretty sure I misheard you"

The panic disappears from Rachel as she processes what Quinn's just said and she quickly shakes her head, clasping onto Quinn's neck and pressing her thumbs into the bottom of Quinn's jaw, causing the blonde to look up at her, hazel eyes connecting to brown.

"You didn't mishear me" Rachel says softly. "I love you, Quinn Fabray"

Hazel eyes search brown ones, trying to find any hint of hesitance or uncertainty in the brown orbs. Upon finding none, Quinn beams at Rachel, a joyful laugh escaping her lips. Her hands cups Rachel's hips again and she softly pecks Rachel's lips.

"I love you too" Quinn whispers, tucking a strand of hair behind Rachel's ear "But if you didn't know that by now, I'd say you need to open your eyes a little more" Quinn smiles playfully at Rachel, earning a small giggle from the smaller girl.

Rachel smiles softly "I know." She laughs softly and picks up the lyrics book "Looking through this, I know. I definitely know"

"Have you chosen a song?" Quinn asks, placing a kiss on Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel bites her lip and flips to the page she saw the song she liked and holds it up to Quinn, pointing at the song title 'Crush' written in Quinn's penmanship.

"Good choice"

"Why did you want me to pick a song?" Rachel asks, moving off of Quinn's lap and sitting next to her.

"Because, we weren't exactly friends when it was your birthday and when we became more than friends, all that's happened with my Dad and Mum, I never got to give you a present"

"Quinn-"

"Don't fight me on this" Quinn says sternly "After everything you've done for me, you deserve this"

"So, what do I get to do with this song?" Rachel asks, excitement beginning to build in her voice.

Quinn smiles "That's for me to know and you to find out"

Rachel groans "Quinn! You know I hate surprises. Can you give me some information?"

Quinn purses her lips, trying to stop herself from giving into the pout Rachel's giving her. She almost does it, then the sneaky brunette throws in her puppy dog eyes. "Oh alright. You need to be in the school parking lot by three o'clock. No later"

"Where are we going?"

"Can't tell you"

"Please?"

Quinn giggle and pulls Rachel into her arms, lying back on the couches under them "Oh no, you already got me telling you enough"

"Fine" Quinn smiles, feeling Rachel's put against her neck. She chuckles softly and pulls Rachel closer to her.

"Even with you just giving me a song, it's still the best present I got this year"

"Really?" Quinn asks in surprise "What did Finn get you?"

"A star" Rachel says, don't not too happy.

"That's amazing! Why don't you sound pleased?"

"You'd think he'd name it after me right?"

"Yeah"

"He didn't. He named it after himself. Not that's not incredibly sweet, he still got me a star..."

"But that's a douchie move." Quinn quickly moves out from Rachel, earning a whine of disproval "Wait a second" Quinn says before standing up and opening up a hatch on the ceileing, revealing the starry night sky to Rachel.

Quinn lies down next to Rachel again and allows Rachel to rest her head on her shoulder before speaking "I'm no good with astronomy, but you see that really bright star? Brighter than the rest"

Rachel nods, keeping her eyes on the bright star that Quinn is pointing at. Her hand tightens round Quinn's waist and she sighs happily.

"That star is called Rachel Barbra Berry" Quinn whispers like it's top secret. Rachel giggles into Quinn's neck "It's the brightest star of them all! As time goes by, she only shines brighter. No matter what, she'll always outshine those around her and be the brightest star in the whole universe!"

Rachel giggles again and snuggles closer to the blonde, feeling like her love for the blonde isn't going to stay inside her for too long. She knows what the blonde is saying isn't true and that she's making it up, but it's incredibly cute and sweet.

"And you see the star directly next to the Rachel Barbra Berry star? Slightly smaller" Quinn smiles to herself "That's the Lucy Quinn Fabray star. That star is always at Rachel Barbra Berry star's side and never leaves." Rachel presses a kiss to Quinn's neck, smiling at the pale skin under her lips.

"When they were tiny little stars, the Lucy Quinn Fabray star promised the Rachel Barbra Berry star that she'll always follow wherever she goes, wherever her dreams take her. So even when the Rachel Barbra Berry star flies across galaxies, the Lucy Quinn Fabray star is always following her, never straying too far and making sure no other star shines brighter than Rachel Barbra Berry" Quinn turns her head to look at Rachel, smiling softly at the watery smile directed at her.

"How long will the Lucy Quinn Fabray star stay by the Rachel Barbra Berry star's side?" Rachel asks softly.

Quinn cups Rachel's face with her right hand and wipes away a few falling tears. She presses a kiss to a tanned cheek.

"Forever"

* * *

**There's that chapter then! I wasn't originally going to have one chapter dedicated to their date, but once I started writing it, I couldn't stop, more and more ideas where just spilling out of me and I couldn't stop myself from writing them then. I apologize if the description of the room wasn't easy to picture, it was hard to write down what I was seeing in my head, but I tried my best!**

**Anyway, thank you for reading and please review, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings on this chapter!**

**xx**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello people! Yes I have a new chapter for you all! **

**Thank you ever so much for the reviews. You won't find out what the song Rachel had chosen is in this chapter, that won't be for some time, I'm afraid. A lot of fluff in this one as well, and some humour at the end!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Quinn...Rachel...?" Hiram's head pops over the edge of the tree house as he climbs to the top. He smiles when his eyes fall on the site before him.

There, sleeping together on the floor sofas are the two lovebirds. Rachel lies on top of Quinn, her head resting in the crook of the blonde's leg and her right arm draped over the blonde's body. Quinn has her right arm wrapped securely around Rachel's waist, seemingly holding her tight against her own body. Her cheek rests upon Rachel's head; her breaths occasionally blowing on a few strands of brunette hair.

What really makes Hiram smile, though, is the content smiles both girl's are sporting as they hold each other. He decides to leave them be and climbs back down, joining his husband at the bottom. He simply smiles at Leroy and pats his upper arm, telling him to leave them be before walking into the Fabray household and meeting Judy in her kitchen.

It's been years since Hiram has seen a smile such as the one on her face just then. The last time he saw it, was the morning that he dropped her off at Elementary school, on the day that everything in Quinn and Rachel's relationship changed. His daughter had squirmed away from his arms upon seeing Quinn across the playground with Russell. Hiram remembers watching her as she ran over to Quinn, shouting her name excitedly. The blonde had turned at the sound of her name and happily accepted the hug Rachel threw around her. Both giggled loudly and happily, animatedly talking to each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years.

He remembers making eye contact with Russell across the playground and receiving a soft smile from the older Fabray. The look they shared knew what was happening with their daughters. They knew that one day, they'd be in the Fabray living room, celebrating Thanksgiving like they do every year together, and the one difference would be the golden wedding bands resting on their daughters' ring fingers as they danced together in the living room.

Hiram also remembers the smile he saw on Rachel's face as Quinn took her hand and walked with her into the school, even opening the door for her. He remembers the happy wave Rachel sent him before the door had closed. But he also remembers the tears running down her daughters face as she ran out at the end of the day, completely disregarding Quinn and running straight into his arms.

He had looked over at Quinn as he held is crying daughter and saw confusion cast over the blonde's face. It was then that Hiram realised that whatever happened during the day, Quinn had absolutely no idea it had happened or that she had caused it. Rachel refused to tell him what had transpired that day, but whenever he or Leroy even off-handily mentioned Quinn or the Fabray name, it would send Rachel into another set of tears

But the one thing that will always stay with him is the day Rachel had her first panic attack. He had been working at home, flicking through some files when he gained a phone call from Rachel's school. Upon hearing the words "Rachel...nurse...here now" Hiram dropped everything he was doing and rushed over. He had charged into the nurse's office and was going to demand to see his little girl but a heart breaking sight stopped him.

Sat in the corner of the nurse's room was Rachel. She had her knees tucked up into her chest, her arms wrapping around them as she rocked back and forth. The nurses sat beside her, trying to coax Rachel out of her shell, but to no avil. Hiram watched as he saw his little girl scratch furiously at her hands, making the skin go red. He remembered seeing her do that a couple of days prior but he and Leroy had thought nothing of it. But seeing her then, scratching at her hands like she was trying to peel her skin off knocked Hiram into action.

He remembers striding over to his rocking daughter and grabbing hold of her hands, preventing her from scratching. She had gently whispered in her ear, causing her rocking to stop. But she didn't release her hold on her legs and started to cry. Not knowing what to do and becoming scared, Hiram had picked up his daughter and drove straight to the hospital. He had paced relentlessly, only stopping to pull his husband into a tight hug when he finally arrived. When the doctor finally informed them of everything, Hiram didn't know what to make of it. He remembers being shocked, angry and frightened. But he also remembers worrying about how Rachel must be feeling and how he and his husband where going to tell Rachel.

"Hiram, sweetie"

Hiram blinks and looks up at his husband's concerned eyes. He smiles and grasps the hand resting on his shoulder.

"Is everything okay Hiram?" Judy asks, placing down the pen she had been writing her flower shop plans with.

"Yes" He says with a gentle smile "Everything is..." he thinks back to the content smile he saw on Rachel's face "...everything is just fine"

* * *

Quinn's keys jingle in her hands as she waits outside the school's doors, watching as students pass her by, rushing to get home. She sighs and looks down at her watch, seeing it's been two minutes since school finished. She blows a raspberry and scratches her head, wondering what is causing Rachel to be late.

"Hey Quinn"

Quinn smiles as she sees Ramona approach her, a friendly smile on the pink haired girl's face. Quinn's eyes glance to the bubblegum pink hair and back to the eyes sparkling at her.

"You've changed your hair colour again" Quinn mentions as she stops jingling her keys.

Ramona touches her hair shyly and smiles softly at Quinn, leaning a shoulder on the wall next to Quinn "You noticed huh?" She says, wiggling her eyebrows jokingly.

Quinn rolls her eyes and playfully punches Ramona's shoulder "It's kinda hard not to notice your hair changing dramatic colours."

"Yes but you are the one to point it out" She licks her lip, her eyes flickering over Quinn's shoulder "You seem to notice the little things to comment on Quinn. In a positive way, of course"

Quinn shrugs "I've come to realise that even the little-est of things can brighten someone's day. Now, stop flirting with me, I'm with Rachel now" Quinn says jokingly.

Ramona laughs "Oh, don't worry. By the look Rachel is sending me, I know you're off limits"

Quinn looks over her shoulder, a smile immediately gracing her face upon seeing Rachel standing a few feet away from them. When Rachel notices Quinn looking, the stony look on her face drops, replaced with a bright smile.

"She loves you. Like, a lot"

Quinn smiles to herself, her gaze shyly dropping away from Rachel's as she looks back to Ramona "Yeah, I know"

Ramona smiles and pushes off from the wall "I best be going before your girlfriend turns me into dust. We need to catch up some time; I haven't seen you in a while"

Quinn nods "Definitely. Drive safely"

"You too" Ramona calls out as she walks away, waving to Rachel over Quinn's shoulder.

The blonde turns around, smiling widely as Rachel makes her way over to her. She looks down at her bare wrist and taps it, shaking her head.

"You're late"

Rachel ignores her and looks to where Ramona had left "What did she want?" She asks; jealousy obviously in her voice.

Quinn's smile drops at Rachel's tone and she sighs softly. Not caring that there are students walking past them, Quinn steps up to Rachel and wraps her arms around Rachel's waist, pulling the brunette close to her.

"We were only chatting" Quinn says softly, moving a strand of brown hair out of Rachel's face. She smiles as big brown eyes stare up at her through long eyelashes "You're the only one that I want Rae. Only you. No one else"

Rachel's arms wrap around Quinn's neck. She rests her head on the blonde's shoulder and nods weakly "I know." She mumbles against Quinn's skin before moving her head back "I know but-"

Quinn places a finger to Rachel's lips "No buts. You need to accept it Rachel Berry" Quinn says, moving away from Rachel and grasping the girl's hand, silently asking if it was okay. She begins to lead the girl to her car.

"Accept what?" She asks as Quinn holds open the car door for her.

"That I'm not leaving any time soon" Quinn answers, pecking Rachel on the lips before moving round to her side of the car.

* * *

"Quinn Fabray, I have an appointment at 3:30" Quinn says to the woman behind the desk. The woman raises her eyebrow as she looks at Rachel, who's eyes are covered by Quinn's hands.

"Is she with you too?" The receptionist asks, snapping the gum in her mouth.

Rachel chuckles from under Quinn's hands, jumping excitedly on the spot "Yes I am!"

The receptionist nods once, eyeing the excited Brunette carefully before looking back to Quinn. She waves off handily in the direction of a door "Go on through"

Quinn nods her thanks and walks Rachel through the door, softly gasping when her eyes settle on the small, but professional recording studio. Her gasp causes a man by the mixing console to spin round and look at her, a knowing smile on his face. He scratches at his beard and adjusts his black rimmed glasses before standing.

"Quinn Fabray, I presume. I'm Luke, we spoke on the phone"

"Hi" Quinn says, her hands still over Rachel's eyes as she peers round the studio, still shocked.

"I'm guessing this is the girl you were speaking to me about? That we just _had_ to allow here?"

Quinn feel Rachel huff in annoyance, upon not seeing what is that Quinn has brought her to. Quinn nods at Luke before bending so her lips her level with Rachel's ear.

"Are you ready?" Rachel nods "Happy late Birthday" She says, removing her hands from Rachel's eyes.

Quinn watches as Rachel peers round the place, spinning on the spot. She and Luke chuckle at Rachel's open mouth, completely in shock by what she's seeing. Rachel looks at Quinn with shock and awe. She slowly walks up to the blonde and pulls her into a tight hug. Rachel doesn't say anything, she just hold Quinn to her body, knowing exactly how she's going to thank the blonde later.

Quinn smiles at Luke from over Rachel's shoulder, chuckling when the girl refuses to let go of her "Superstar, you need to let me go so you can record your song"

When Rachel pulls back and Quinn wipes a thumb under her eye, the brunette realises she had been silently crying in happiness. She smiles brightly, more tears falling when Quinn produces her lyric book, opening up at the song Rachel chose.

"This is your song now. Go crazy, superstar" Quinn whispers, pressing a kiss to Rachel's cheek before handing her the book.

Luke claps his hands together, smiling brightly at Rachel "Right. Ready to make a song?"

* * *

Quinn walks up to Luke as Rachel sings in the booth. They had been here for three hours, Luke worked non-stop, only taking a short break to get a drink. They worked on the music first, Rachel demanded that Quinn play the instruments and when Luke mentioned that they have employees to do that, so it won't be necessary, Rachel stormed out like the diva she is.

Luckily, Quinn had been able t coax her back into the room after a few kisses and promises. They ended up compromising on Quinn having full control over the music and having input as the employees paid. Luke had started to say no, but one pleading look from Quinn stopped him and he had reluctantly agreed.

However, is reluctance had disappeared when Quinn started to talk to his employees. Shock had ran through him at the technical terms the young blonde was using and how much she knew. What surprised him more was when she turned to the mixing table. She had offered him extra money before shoo-ing him away and using the mixing table like she had been doing it for years.

Luke smiles at Quinn when he feels her tap on his shoulder. He pushes his glasses up his nose and removes his headphones.

"She's good. Amazing" He is, pointing to Rachel finally singing in the booth.

The brunette had been so excited when they revealed to her she could finally sing. She almost cried again, but Quinn had luckily stopped the tears.

Quinn smiles fondly and nods, taking a seat at the mixing table. When they had moved onto Rachel singing, Quinn decided to take a backseat on the mixing, letting Luke do what she paid him to do. "I know"

Luke moves a switch up the mixing board and flips a few switches "I can honestly say, we've never had someone as good as her. We don't have to use auto-tune for her"

"I know. She's pitch perfect. If she's even half a step lower than she is meant to do, she'll keep on recording-just a heads up"

"I doubt we'll need to"

Quinn laughs "Oh it won't be your decision." Quinn smiles fondly again, knowing Rachel would throw in Luke's face her years of vocal training and possibly storm out if she felt she was off key. "So have you had to use auto tune a lot?" She asks, spinning slightly in her seat.

Rachel's head pokes out of the booth "Do you mind if we do that verse again? I was slightly pitchy"

Luke replays the tape, listening through his headphone and frowns, not finding anything wrong. He goes to say so, but the hand on his arm stops him. He looks to Quinn, noticing her small shake of the head before she mouths 'go with it'. He turns back to Rachel and nods, rewinding the music tape. Rachel beams at him before popping back into the booth.

Luke turns to Quinn and removes his glasses, cleaning them with his shirt. Quinn's eyes widen slightly at how his eyes seemed to shrink without his glasses on "Most of the people that come here don't tend to be very good"

Quinn smirks and leans back in her chair "You mean they're crap?"

Luke places his glasses back on and clears his throat, busying himself with the mixing table "No not crap just.."

"Crap"

Luke playfully glares at Quinn "I was going to say different. Their voice tend to need some tweaking" At Quinn's raised eyebrow his chuckles and rolls his eyes "Okay, a _lot_ of tweaking" he shrugs "I wouldn't expect any better, though. We aren't a hit record company. We're just an independent recording studio in a Lima Ohio."

Quinn folds her arms across her chest and nods, picking up her own pair of head phones and placing them on. She smiles when the sound of Rachel's velvety voice flows through and caresses her ears with a song that Quinn wrote. She couldn't get any happier than this really.

"That's why I'm quite shocked now. The fact you wrote this song yourself, not covering one from the charts, played some of the instruments and that she her singing is phenomenal" Luke smiles at Quinn and goes back to tweaking the song.

Quinn's eyes drift back to Rachel in the booth. The brunette's smile is so large it looks like she's going to snap her face in half. The brunette catches Quinn staring and blushes, turning and seemingly singing them to Quinn, doing little hand gestures with it. Quinn chuckles and shakes her head at the smaller girls' antics.

After running through it a couple more times, Rachel finally leave the booth, excitement radiating off of her. She bounces over to Quinn, landing easily into the blonde's lap. She wraps her arms around the blonde's neck and places a sloppy kiss on her cheek. Luke watches the pair fondly and smiles to himself. He taps the console with his finger, gaining the girls' attention.

"We've got every part to the song that you wish, yes?" He asks.

Rachel bounces upon Quinn's lap "Yes! Everything!"

Luke chuckles and looks at Quinn over Rachel's shoulder "The song will be done in a few weeks."

The smile on Rachel's face falls and Luke panics slightly. This can't be good.

"A few weeks? Why not now?" She asks, aggravated.

Quinn rubs at Rachel's tensed back and then wraps her arms around her, pulling the girl close to her body. She smiles when she feels Rachel relax and lean into her.

Luke swallows "It takes a while to place everything together. We've got other clients to go through before you, Rachel."

Rachel goes to say something back, but Quinn stops her by turning the brunette to look at her.

"Baby, there were people who came here before us. It's only fair that they get their songs before us, okay?"

Rachel frowns slightly "I know, but I'm just so excited"

"I know, I am too. But we have to be patient. A trait you and I are not" Rachel nods, resting her head against Quinn's and placing a soft kiss against the blonde's lips.

"Just so you know" Rachel moves so her lips are against Quinn's ear "When we get back, I'm going to give you such a big thank you that a cold shower won't be enough"

Quinn swallows at Rachel whispered words and closes her eyes. A pool of wetness had formed in between her legs at Rachel's promise. Her own, very different type of excitement grows within in her.

She gently pushes Rachel off her lap, swallowing thickly at Rachel's seductive look and turns to Luke. She quickly thanks him before grabbing hold of Rachel's hand, suddenly very eager to get them home.

* * *

Rachel's back arches, causing their hips to push together deliciously, causing a spell of pleasure to rush over Quinn. No other girl has made Quinn feel like this and she and Rachel have only removed their shirts. She can't wait to see what it's like for when they go all the way.

Quinn sits up, her hands running up and down Rachel's strong back, teasingly playing with the girl's bra strap. Her lips kiss down the column of Rachel's neck, causing a low moan to vibrate against Quinn's lips. Quinn chuckles against tanned skin, moving her kisses to Rachel's collar bone. She kisses and licks her way across the skin before making her way up Rachel's neck and re-connecting their lips.

Rachel's fingers twist in her hair as their tongues battle together. She pulls Quinn impossibly closer to her, another moan escaping her when Quinn pulls her closer, causing their hips to connect. Quinn gasps when she feels Rachel grind down against her jeans, causing the material to rub against her swollen clit.

Quinn's fingers graze Rachel's bra again before her left hand leaves Rachel's back and rests upon her hip as their tongue continue to battle. She begins to move her hand up the girl's side, moving it so it rises up her toned stomach. She stops when her fingers graze the underside of Rachel's bra. She pulls away from Rachel's mouth, pressing a peck against swollen lips and smiles.

Rachel looks at her with dark, aroused eyes. She looks at the blonde in slight confusion. Quinn smiles at her and licks her lips, her fingers grazing the material of Rachel's bra still.

"I love you" Quinn says, using her right hand to tuck a stray piece of brunette hair behind Rachel's ear.

Rachel blushes, suddenly becoming shy in front of the blonde, despite the fact she is currently straddling her with her shirt off. Her fingers lightly scratch at the nape of Quinn's neck before she breathlessly replies "I love you too"

At her words, Quinn connects their lips again. But instead of it being like their lust filled, crazed kisses before hand, it' sweet and loving. Their lips caress one another, silently exchanging promises between the two of them. No tongue becomes involved-it's not needed with this. Their lips alone are speaking the passion and love they hold for one another.

Rachel breaks away when she feels Quinn's hand twitch under her bra "You can touch me" She whispers, grabbing Quinn's hand and guiding it up to cup her breast. Quinn looks down at their joined hands, cupping Rachel's boob and smiles. She feels her panties become even more soaked upon feeling Rachel's hardened nipple press against her palm. She squeezes gently, causing Rachel to gasp and thrust her hips up to Quinn's. Brown eyes disappear behind eye lids as Quinn flicks her finger across her nipple before rolling it between her forefinger and thumb.

Quinn presses sloppy opened mouthed kisses to Rachel's neck as the brunette throws her head back in pleasure whilst Quinn pinches her nipple between her fingers. A soft kiss is pressed to her lips before Quinn moves her hand away from Rachel's boob and places it on her waist. Rachel raises her eyebrow at Quinn in her flustered state.

"Why did you stop?" She asks.

Quinn looks up at her with dark, aroused hazel eyes and licks her lips "Because if I continued, I wouldn't be able to stop"

"Good" Rachel smirks and moves to grab Quinn's hand, but the blonde pulls it out of her reach.

"No not good" Quinn says. Upon seeing Rachel's hurt expression, Quinn smiles softly and moves the both of them so their lying down on her bed. She wraps her arms around Rachel and pull the smaller girl against her body. "I want to make your first time to be special, Rae. I don't want it to be a five minute quickly we squeeze in before my Mum comes home."

Rachel tucks her head under Quinn's chin, drawing patterns on the blonde's arm and smiles to herself. Quinn continues to speak "I don't want it to be like mine."

Rachel presses a kiss to the underside of Quinn's jaw "What was yours like?" She looks up at Quinn, noticing how the blonde's lips become set in a hard line and her eyebrows furrow together in concentration.

"I don't remember what it was like. I was drunk at the time. It was at one of Puck's parties after we had won the soccer championship in sophomore year. This girl and I began dancing together, we had quite a few drinks, she took my hand and lead me upstairs. The next thing I remember is waking up in bed the next morning, naked, with the girl. I panicked and left, not even bothering to leave the girl a note"

Rachel frowns slightly "Do you know who this girl is?"

Quinn shakes her head "I think she was the captain from Carmel."

Rachel gasps "You slept with the enemy!" she says jokingly "What would your team think?"

Quinn laughs and tugs Rachel closer to her "They didn't care. Some even praised me. Anyway, if they disliked me for that, how do you think they'd feel when they find out I'm in love with the enemy?"

"We all knew, anyway"

Rachel and Quinn sit up, tugging Quinn's bed sheets over their bodies to cover themselves. They look to Quinn's bedroom door, seeing not just Santana and Brittany standing in the doorway, but the rest of their team. All have bright smiles on their faces. Well, most, Santana is smirking at the two of them.

"What the fuck guys!" Quinn shouts. She grabs her shirt from the lamp where she and Rachel threw it earlier and lobs it over to the door "Get out!"

Santana scoffs, grabbing the shirt before it hits her face, throwing it back at Quinn "Oh stop your whining Butch, we've all walked in on worse and you didn't care then."

"This is different!" Quinn hisses, positioning herself so she's blocking Rachel from most of her teammates. Even though they both have their bra's on, Quinn knows Rachel will be feeling self conscious from the eyes of the team.

"Get dressed Rizzoli and Isles, we've got practise in ten minutes"

Quinn gets out from the covers, throwing on her t-shirt, still blocking her friend's view of Rachel as the brunette slips on her shirt.

"Says who?"

"Coach. We've got the game this weekend and we need to be perfect. Now get yo asses to school before I kick 'em there" Santana says, the team laughing from behind her before shutting the door.

* * *

**There you have it guys! The chapter. It was going to be longer, but I cut some out to put in the next chapter as it didn't seem to flow very well!**

**Hope you enjoyed it and please review!**

**xx**


	20. Chapter 20

**Heyo! Nice to see you guys again. Thank you all so much for the reviews. I hope a few questions/concerns asked last time are answered/solved in this chapter. If not, let me know!**

**Songs: "Cry" – Kelly Clarkson and "Tea and Toast"-Lucy Spraggan. I recommend listening to tea and toast as you read the lyrics towards the end of the chapter. Just to warn you, I did change a few lyrics and pronouns around in the song so it fit better.**

**I do not own either of those songs. Or Glee.**

* * *

Quinn leans against the row of lockers, smiling as her girlfriend rummages through her locker, completely oblivious to Quinn standing beside her. She watches as Rachel pulls out from the locker, a binder in her hand as she mumbles angrily, flipping through the binder, frantically searching for something. She doesn't notice Quinn smirking at her and turns back to her locker, continuing her search.

Quinn rolls her eyes and leans down so her lips are level with Rachel's ear "What you searching for superstar?"

Rachel jumps, screaming slightly and drops the binder in her hands. Quinn laughs and bends down, picking up the binder for Rachel and hands it to her, laughing harder at the girl's un-amused face.

"Quinn Fabray! You do not sneak up on people like that! What if I had hit you?"

Quinn shakes her head "First of all: I did not sneak up on you, I've been standing here for the past five minutes and you didn't notice and secondly: you wouldn't hit me"

Rachel places her hands on her hips "Oh yeah? Well you wouldn't know that seeing I was able to reign in my instinct of self defence"

A adoring smile pulls up on Quinn's face as she drinks in the sight of her adorable, pocket sized girlfriend. There are times where Quinn just wants to grab hold of Rachel, put her in her pocket and then run off with her. Actually, Quinn could quite possibly do that anyway. Rachel shifts under Quinn's gaze worried about the lack of answer coming from Quinn.

"What?" Rachel asks, her eyes darting about the hallway.

Quinn steps closer to Rachel and places her hands on the smaller girl's hips. "I really love you" Quinn whispers, causing Rachel to blush, her hands coming up to wrap around Quinn's neck.

"I love you too"

They smile at each other before allowing their lips to connect in a soft kiss. Breathless sighs leave one another as they pull apart, their foreheads touching together.

"Aww, isn't that cute"

Rachel visibly stiffens in Quinn's arms whilst Quinn sends a venomous look over Rachel's shoulder. Rachel hears Quinn growl under her breath and slowly turns in the blonde's arms, coming face to fce with the arrogant, smirking faces of Vocal Adrenaline.

"What are you doing here, St. James?" Quinn growls, moving so her body is in front of Rachel, blocking her from Jesse. "I thought you graduated"

Jesse smiles innocently at Quinn, those his eyes spark with venom. He clears his throat, standing tall and gestures to his team behind him "I coach VA now"

Quinn nods stiffly. Rachel makes eye contact with Mercedes and Kurt and her posture softens. She hasn't spoken to those two since leaving Carmel. She misses listening to them gush about boys to her whilst she ranted about Quinn and what an idiot Finn is.

"And we are here, for her" He says, pointing to Rachel.

"You're not having her" Rachel and Quinn look behind themselves, seeing the glee club standing behind them. Even Finn has joined them, standing at the very back, glaring at Jesse with his arms folded over his chest. Puck's the one who had spoken and moved to stand beside Rachel, a protective hand on her shoulder.

Jesse just smirks at them all "I see you've still got your motley crew of underdogs"

Quinn ignores him and takes a step forward "Why do you wish to have her?"

"For Regionals and Nationals, of course. We need her and she needs us" Jess looks at his team before looking back at Rachel "Rachie, we all miss you" He says with a sickeningly sweet voice. The glee club all cringe in disgust at the nick name.

"Rachie?" Puck says under his breath, looking at Rachel in confusion. She merely shrugs her shoulders.

"Rachel doesn't need you."

"Oh I think she does. If she wants to get into NYADA, that is."

Quinn's eyes narrow dangerously "Rachel can get into NYADA with her eyes closed and her hands bounded"

Jesse chuckles darkly "But how will it look, hmm? A NYADA student coming from a two time Nationals losing team instead of a five time winning team? And that's _if_ she gets in."

Quinn's glare darkens at Jesse's words, but he ignores the look and continues speaking "It's practically unheard of for two students to be selected from the same school. We all know, my dear Quinn, that you will be the obvious first choice by how unique you are. What with the song-writing"

"They would have to be deaf to accept me over Rachel."

"Then consider them deaf"

"How about" Quinn says, taking a step forward "We let Rachel say who she's going to instead of making the decision for her"

All eyes turn to Rachel. Rachel visibly shrinks under the stares, a few impatient (VA) others apologetic (Kurt and Mercedes), some pleading (majority of glee club) and a selected few loving (Puck, Quinn and Finn).

"Uh-well-um-"

"You see! She can't make the decision herself" Jesse says, interrupting Rachel's stammering. "I declare we have a game"

Quinn keeps her eyes on Rachel, her stare becoming hurt at the fact Rachel stumbled over her words. She knows it was probably from all the stares directed at her, but something inside of Quinn is saying otherwise. She knows it's her fear that Rachel will leave them for Carmel and that's it's a stupid thing to think, but she can't get rid of it.

"Fine" Quinn says, finally moving her eyes from Rachel.

Jesse smiles "Excellent so the game shall be-"

"We'll pick the game." Quinn interrupts him "Seeing as you're on our turf"

A scoff sounds from the arrogant boy's mouth "Stop acting like this is West Side Story"

Quinn ignores him "No singing games." She states. She looks to the glee club behind her, asking them a silent question. Smirks pull on all their faces as they all nod in unison-bar Rachel-low laughs sounding from their throats.

Quinn clears her throat and turns back to Jesse "Dodgeball. The Winner keeps Rachel on their team" She sticks her hand out for Jesse to shake.

Jesse rolls his eyes "Such a barbaric game-"

"Make the deal St. James before I kick your ass out of here" Santana threatens from behind Quinn.

"Feisty" Jesse smirks "I like it" Everyone grimaces at his slimy words as she takes hold of Quinn's hand and gives it a firm shake.

"Deal"

* * *

"Quinn"

The blonde stops tightening one of her pig tails and turns to Rachel. She smiles at her girlfriend "Hey"

Rachel bites her lip "Even if they win-which I know they won't- you do know that I won't go back to Vocal Adrenaline, right?"

Quinn smiles softly at Rachel and takes hold of her hand "I know."

"You didn't look like you did in the hall"

The blonde's shoulders slump and she nods, swinging their joined hands in between them "For a moment, I didn't. I had this tiny bit of fear in me that was telling me you won't stay here. But I know you won't"

Rachel blinks once at Quinn before a kind, understanding smile pulls on her face "I understand. You just, need to trust me, okay?"

"I do trust you." At Rachel's raised eyebrows Quinn sighs "I don't trust them. They are manipulative, arrogant brats"

Rachel nods then begins to lead the two of them into the gymnasium "I wish you'd let me play"

"You're the prize. The prize never plays"

They stop, greeting the rest of the glee club and listen as Puck talks over their plan. Rachel zones out as he speaks, taking the time to look at Quinn. A red mckinley t-shirt and tight, black gym shorts replaces her dress that she was wearing earlier, showing off her toned legs and shapely bum. Tube socks and sneakers adorn her feet whilst her hair is in two low pigtails.

Quinn notices Rachel's staring once they break away and looks at her in confusion "What?"

Rachel reaches up and plays with one of Quinn's pigtails and bites her lip, looking at Quinn with lust "Nothing." She lets the pig tail go "You just look really cute"

Quinn beams at Rachel "Kiss for good luck?" She asks, wiggling her eyebrows.

Rachel rolls her eyes before grabbing Quinn by her neck and pulling her down until their lips meet. Both ignore the cat calls coming from Santana and Puck as their lips slide together with ease. When they pull away from each other, Quinn flips off Puck and Santana, causing them to laugh hysterically.

"Kick their asses, baby" Rachel whispers before giving Quinn one last peck and skipping off to her designated seat on the bleachers.

Quinn smiles and walks over to her spot besides Puck. She presses her hand against the wall behind her and rocks on her legs, preparing herself to sprint. She notices Jesse bring out a stereo and hit play. Just as he's about to sing, Quinn indicates to Mercedes-who didn't want to play and so is the ref-to blow the whistle twice, stopping Jesse.

"No singing!" Quinn shouts across the court. Jesse frowns at her before shutting off the stereo and get's into position.

"Ready?" Mercedes calls out "3...2...1..."

At the sound of the whistle, Quinn charges away from the wall and immediately grabs one of the balls set out in front of them, dodging a ball that a member of VA threw at her.

Balls whizz past her, missing her and her teammates, a few hitting them. Tina walks off first, rubbing a red patch on her arm and grumbling her breath whilst Jesse and...Veronica?...yeah Veronica, celebrate. Quinn takes that moment to throw the ball in her hands, hitting Veronica in the stomach.

She celebrates loudly with Sam and narrowly misses a ball whizzing past her ear.

* * *

Mercedes and the kicked out Kurt sit themselves down either side of Rachel, both smiling warmly at her as the game continues on. The majority of Vocal Adrenaline have been knocked out, leaving only Jesse and three others, whilst on Quinn's team Quinn, Artie, Santana, Puck, Sam and Finn are all still in. When Brittany got kicked out, Santana went all Lima Heights and got like five members of Vocal Adrenaline out within a minute.

Rachel smiles back at her friends, chuckling at the red patch on Kurt's cheek. He received a ball to the face by Quinn, whom Rachel's going to force to apologize to Kurt later.

"So, got some news to tell us?" Kurt asks.

"Get down and dirty with Quinn Fabray, we see" Mercedes says with a cheeky smile.

Rachel rolls her eyes at her old friends "You know, I was going to say I missed you guys, but I'm starting not too"

"Oh come on" Kurt says, playfully bumping his and Rachel's shoulder together "We haven't seen you in months or heard from you. You left Carmel hating Quinn and now we see you again and you're there playing tonsil hockey with her"

The Diva sighs exaggeratedly and smiles at her two friends, a bashful blush emerging on her cheeks. "Well you know, you think you hate someone, then they things to make you realise that you love them, no biggy"

"No biggy?" Kurt asks incredulously.

"Girl, I know you're crazy if you think that's no biggy. That is a big biggy"

"A very big biggy"

Rachel laughs softly, moving her neck side to side having just been whipping it left and right as Kurt and Mercedes spoke. "Look, guys. Quinn...Quinn has made me really happy these past through weeks okay? Months, even. I hardly scratch at my hands anymore, look"

Rachel produces her hands o her friends, hearing soft gasps leave their mouths when they see the scratch ridden skin, only old scars from past years adorning the tanned skin. "My therapist has told me I'm doing better and I no longer need my medicine. Despite Quinn being the one to make me worse, she's doing a hell of a job making me better"

"The way you ranted about her really made me think you despised her" Kurt admits, rubbing at his still stinging cheek.

"I can't say I've always loved her. I did hate her for some time, in the beginning. But I guess...over time I just used the hate as an excuse to get close to her, to talk about her. I used it to cover my real feelings from myself."

Kurt and Mercedes share a look "We just wanted to get some juicy gossip not have a deep conversation Rach. Leave those for our sleepovers" Kurt says.

Rachel laughs "You two never change"

The three then sit back and enjoy the game in front of them. At one point, Quinn jumps on the back of Artie's wheel chair, karate chopping away the flying red balls, grabbing a few and throwing them back all the while screaming like she's in Braveheart.

Rachel covered her hands in embarrassment for the blonde at that point, though she found it very cute.

* * *

This is it. She can win this, or lose this. She definitely doesn't want to lose to Jesse St. Fucking James that's for sure. No freaking way.

Quinn looks to the crowd, her eyes scanning over the knocked out VA members and glee club members. Santana, Brittany and Puck are chanting her name along with-surprisingly-Finn. All of them have red marks on their arms, legs or face from where the balls had made impact. The rest of the glee club are on the edge of their seats, anxiously awaiting their victory.

Quinn's eyes finally settle on Rachel who's sandwiched between Kurt and Mercedes. The Diva smiles encouragingly at the blonde. Her words of encouragement run through Quinn's mind again.

"_Kick their ass, baby"_

A grin pulls on Quinn's lips as the word 'baby' plays through her mind. She licked Rachel calling her baby.

She looks back to her opponent, her eyes narrowing at his smirk as he bounce the red ball in his hands against the gymnasium floor. Her eyes follow the ball's movement, knowing she shouldn't look at Jesse, but the ball. Jesse will try and do something to distract her.

He's the only one of them holding a ball and has been stalling for some time now. Quinn rolls her eyes mentally. He probably wants to make this moment more dramatic than it really is.

Shutting her eyes, Quinn shuts out the sounds of her friend's chanting and instead, focuses on the sound of the red ball in Jesse's hand hitting the floor.

_Thud. Thud. Thud._

Quinn's eyes stay fixed on the ball, her posture changing when she notice's Jesse pulling his hand back. She sees his lips move but doesn't hear what she's saying. Instead, her ears pick up on the light squeak of his sneakers on the floor and his uneven breath. She hears the air gush past his hand as he throws the ball forward.

Time seems to slow down as Quinn watches the red ball hurtle towards her, spinning round in the air. With precise steps, Quinn turns her body to face right, her feet planted shoulder width apart. Her hands reach up and easily grab the ball in her hands.

Without giving Jesse time to blink, Quinn throws the ball over her head with all her might, a Feracious rawr leaving her lips. A smile pulls up on Quinn's lips as the smirk on Jesse's face falls and is replaced with fear as the ball goes flying back at him.

The sound of rubber hitting his face is only sound heard in the now quiet gymnasium. The ball bounces off of Jesse's and rolls towards Quinn's feet. Blood begins to trickle out of Jesse's nose and he quickly cups it, pain welling up in her eyes.

Then, the celebrating starts.

As if a switch had been flipped, the sound of victorious shouts and laughter fill the gymnasium. Quinn doesn't register the sounds of feet running over to her until arms wrap around her legs and she's hoisted up onto Puck and Sam's shoulders.

Then it hits her. She had just won. She beat Jesse St. James.

Upon having realised this, Quinn throws her head back, her arms up in the air and lets out a loud "Woo!"

"Piss off you twirling bastards!" Santana shouts at VA as they start to leave, guiding Jesse out of the room as he whines and says "It's bleeding!" over and over again.

After being high fived by her teammates, Puck and Sam finally place Quinn back on the floor. Arms wrap around her neck as a tiny body jumps up onto her, strong legs wrap around her waist. Quinn doesn't need to see her face to know who it is, she just laughs along with the tiny diva and holds her girlfriend tightly to her body.

A kiss is pressed against her cheek before Rachel jumps down and skips off happily to a still lingering Mercedes and Kurt. Quinn watches her go before turning round and joining in with her friends' celebrating.

* * *

Quinn's hand runs across the neatly ruled page, lyrics spilling out across the page with ease. She rubs at the bridge of her nose and pushes the frames sliding down her nose back up into place. Biting her lip, Quinn pauses for a moment, bringing her pen up to her lips. She taps the pen against her lips, thinking over the words in her head, changing a few around before writing them down.

She pauses once more and glances around the blue lit tree-house. Her eyes settle on a photo of Judy and Russell. They're dancing in the middle of the dance floor at their wedding reception. Judy's dressed in a beautiful white wedding dress that flares softly at the bottom whilst her hair is pinned up in loose curls.

Russell is dressed in a clean black tuxedo with a blue bowtie and his hair neatly combed. Both have happy smiles on their faces, Judy's beaming at a sight somewhere off camera, her eyes sparkling whilst Russell smiles down at Judy, love shining in his eyes.

Ever since Quinn was little, she's wanted to find a love like her parents. They were so happy together, they fit perfectly. When Judy told Quinn about her Dad and how she and Russell met whilst Quinn wrote it all down, the blonde couldn't help but wish to gain a love story like theirs. It was sweet and simple. Not complicated like how hers and Rachel's is.

Don't get her wrong, Quinn loves Rachel and loves the fact she can finally call her 'mine'. But she wishes that they found each other as simply as her parents did. She knows that her parents probably had a few rough patches along the way, but not as rough as hers and Rachel's.

Quinn shakes her head and removes her eyes from the photo. She shouldn't be thinking like that. She and Rachel have their own love story that they could tell their children about. Quinn smiles to herself. Not many people can honestly say that they're high school relationship last long enough or that they find their soul mate in high school. But Quinn can. She can feel it. Whenever she's not near Rachel, she wishes she is. Whenever she's close to Rachel, she wants to be just that little bit closer. When she's not talking to Rachel she's either thinking about her or talking about her. She knows she can never have enough of Rachel. Never.

"There you are"

Quinn looks up from her book, smiling at her girlfriend's head that's popping up over the floor of the tree house.

"Hey" She says, watching Rachel hoist herself into the tree house and make her way over to Quinn. She sits down beside the blonde and snuggles into her side.

"I've been looking for you everywhere"

Quinn chuckles and continues to write "I needed to be on my own for a while"

Rachel frowns "Oh, do you want me to go?" She asks, beginning to move away.

Quinn's hand stops her "No. You can stay" She says, looking at Rachel over her glasses. Rachel smiles and taps the lens of Quinn's glasses, causing Quinn to jump slightly.

"I hardly see you wear your glasses"

A pale finger pushes the sliding black frames back up Quinn's nose "That's because I'm normally wearing my contacts. They started irritating my eyes today so I took them out when I got home"

Rachel nods and rests her head on Quinn's shoulder, watching as the blonde continues to write in her lyric book. "Quinn...I've been thinking about what we discussed the other day"

Quinn looks up from her book to Rachel "What about it?"

"I...I don't understand something...You said you had an awful first time, you say you've loved me for some time, yet you still slept with those girls"

Quinn places her pen on the page in her book and sets it down in her lap and grabs hold of Rachel's hands. "Rae, you do realise that if you have an awful first time, that doesn't stop you from having a good second time, or third time, right?"

Rachel nods "Was it a good...second time? And third time? And fourth time and-"

Quinn places a finger on Rachel's lips "You're working yourself up sweetie. Do you want me to answer honestly?" Rachel nods "My second time was slightly better than the first, my third was better than my second and so on."

Rachel goes to pull her hands away, but Quinn tightens her grip "But do you know what?"

"What?"

"I didn't enjoy them that much. Rachel, I love you more than I've loved anything ever. And I have done for a long time, but I only figured that out when we got back from our stay at the cabin. I realised at the cabin that my feelings towards you weren't hate. It was fear of falling in love you. But the silly thing is, that I realised I had fallen in love with you long ago, I just couldn't see it. I thought I slept with those girls to annoy you. But I know now it was to make you jealous."

Quinn shuffles closer to Rachel and pushes a strand of hair behind the brunette's ear "Did you not realise that I started sleeping with those girls once you and Finn got together? I claimed to use Finn as my beard, but I didn't. I only went out with him to keep him from you. But when you two got together anyway, I went for a different approach and without realising, set out to make you jealous of the girls with me."

"Really?"

Quinn nods "Really. Do you know something else? When you're ready, our first time together is going to be the most amazing experience of my life"

"Why?"

"Because we won't be having sex. We won't be sleeping together or fucking. We'll be making love. Santana told me that when you have sex with someone you truly care about, it's different from being with other people. It's different because not only are you connecting on a physical level, we're connecting on a emotional level. We'll be acting out what our words cannot say, what words cannot convey to each other. Do you understand?"

Rachel nods, a smile breaking out on her face "I understand."

Quinn beams at Rachel and picks up her lyric book once again and continues to think of more words to write. Rachel snuggles back into Quinn's side, allowing their legs to tangle with each others. Silence fills the tree house as they simply enjoy each other's company and being together.

"Have you got your song for your audition sorted out?" Rachel asks, breaking the silence.

Quinn nods "Yeah, have you?"

Quinn feels Rachel shakes her head "No, that's what I was searching for today. I have no clue if I should sing Broadway or Streisand-Rain on My Parade of course- or-"

"I'm going to stop you right there" Quinn says, closing her book and settling it down beside her. She shifts so she's looking at Rachel, her legs crossed under her so she's sitting Indian style. "Rae, don't sing Broadway or Barbra"

At the over exaggerated gasp leaving Rachel's lips, Quinn rolls her eyes "Think about it, how many people will Carmen have seen before our auditions?"

"A few hundred"

"And how many will she see after us?"

"A few thousand"

"Exactly. I can bet nearly each one of those kids will be singing something from Broadway or a Barbra song. To stand out and be remembered, you need to sing something different, something completely unexpected"

Rachel frowns "Isn't it best to play it safe?"

"Sometimes, but not if you want to stand out. If you want to shine like you know you can, you'll need to present Carmen with a performance she's never seen."

Rachel sighs and falls back against the floor couches in a huff "But, you're doing something completely unique! Jesse is right, even if I sing my heart out, you'll get the place"

Quinn rolls her eyes at her girlfriend and gently pulls her up into a sitting position "Jesse is stupid. He was just trying to convince you to go back to Vocal Adrenaline. Rachel, if they don't accept you, I will eat my own arm off. That's how much faith I have in you. Just sing something to stand out"

Rachel bites her lip and nods, thinking over Quinn's words. "Okay. I will" She stands up, bending to place a peck on Quinn's lips "I'm going to get working on selecting a song, the audition is in two days!"

"Do you want my help?"

"No, I want it to be a surprise" Rachel blows a kiss to Quinn before climbing back down the tree house.

Quinn shakes her head at her girlfriend and picks up the book, continuing with her song.

* * *

"Nervous?"

"A little, are you?"

"Terrified"

Rachel smiles up at her shaking girlfriend and places a gentle hand on her cheek, bringing the blonde's attention away from the auditorium and to her. "You'll do fine. Just do what you do best"

"What's that?" Quinn asks, her voice dripping with anxiety and nerves.

"Play your guitar. Make music"

Quinn smiles bashfully and looks down at her feet. Hushes voices are heard sounding from the auditorium stands. Both girl's move quickly and pock their heads out of the wings.

"Oh god" Quinn whispers upon seeing Carmen get directed to the seats directly in the middle of the auditorium by Mr Schue. She moves away from the curtain and further into the wing "I think I'm going to throw up"

Rachel quickly moves to her side and grabs hold of the blonde by her arms, stopping her nervous pacing "Stop panicking"

"I can't...this is my future Rae, if I screw this up then I'm stuck in OSU whilst you're off in New York living your dream"

"Listen to me Quinn"

Hazel eyes lock onto calm brown eyes quickly and Quinn nods stiffly. Rachel smiles warmly at her "I'm going on first as it's done alphabetically and I want you to only look at me okay? Calm your breathing"

Quinn nods, her finger tapping rapidly at her guitar case.

"And when you go on, I want you to close your eyes and play that guitar. Think of your Dad and how his life inspired the song you're going to sing. Don't think about anything else. Just him and the song"

"I don't think I can" Quinn admits, her voice making it sound like she's on the verge of tears.

"You can and you will. I believe in you baby"

"Rachel Berry"

At the sound of Carmen's voice, Quinn literally looks like she just shat her pants, causing Rachel to giggle before pressing a kiss to the blonde's cheek and making her way out onto the stage. Quinn slowly follows her, standing on the edge of the wings. Rachel looks at her and smiles once. Quinn smiles back, trying to look as encouraging as she can through her fear.

"Hello my name is Rachel Berry and I'll be singing Cry by Kelly Clarkson"

Quinn smiles at the glint of surprise that flashes across Carmen's face. Quinn notices how before, Carmen looked disinterested but upon hearing Rachel's choice of a song, she looks slightly intrigued. Quinn spots Puck and Santana sat a few seats behind Carmen and smiles at them. The wave back at her and turn their attention back to the stage as Rachel begins to sing.

_"If anyone asks, I'll tell them we both just moved on..."_

Quinn watches in awe as Rachel puts her heart and soul into her performance. She notices how Rachel's not just singing the words of a song she like the sound of, she's declaring them, she's speaking them from her own experiences with love and hate and anger. That's when it hits Quinn, Rachel has taken what Quinn's said about making love and applied it to this song. Not only has Rachel connected with this song physically, she's connected emotionally. She can relate to what Kelly must have been feeling when writing the song.

The way she's singing it, the power she is putting behind her voice is making it seem like Rachel wrote the song. She's making it seem like her song and not just another artists' song that she's signing. Quinn shakes her head in amazement when a tears slowly falls down Rachel's cheek as she sings the last line of the song, the emotion behind those words is remarkable. Just when Quinn believes that Rachel can't amaze her anymore, she does this.

Quinn looks out to the stands, a smile pulling on her face upon seeing Carmen's slightly less stern expression. It seems to Quinn that Carmen has one of the tiniest smiles on her face. But it's gone once Rachel finsishes.

"Thank you Miss Berry" Carmen says, giving Rachel a nod.

Rachel says her thank you to Carmen and makes her way off stage. As soon as she is out of eye sight, Quinn pulls her into a hug, softly squealing in delight, her fear long forgotten.

"You were amazing!" Quinn says, allowing Rachel back on the ground again.

"Lucy Fabray" Carmen says before Rachel can say nything.

Quinn swallows, her eyes widening. She looks at Rachel who rubs her arm and smiles at her in encouragement.

"Go on" she coaxes, taking Quinn's guitar out of the case and handing it to her.

Quinn nods and slowly makes her way to centre stage. She swallows nervously and places the strap of her guitar over her shoulder. She makes eye contact with Carmen's steely gaze and shivers.

"Hello, I'm Lucy Quinn Fabray and I'm going to be performing one of my own songs called Tea and Toast"

Quinn doesn't notice the surprise on Carmen's face or the intrigued smile as the director leans forward a little, obviously interested in Quinn.

Clearing her throat, Quinn begins to play.

_"__Russell was born in 1962  
With eyes of blue  
And the doctors said that his birth was far too fast"_

Quinn begins to strum out a quite upbeat tune from her guitar, creating a contrapuntal sound to the story of the song.

_"__His heart stopped twice  
But yet he survived  
As he took his first breathe  
His mother took her last_

_And his father knew that he wasn't to blame  
But he never quite looked at Tom the same after that"_

Quinn shuts her eyes just like Rachel instructed and just plays, singing her heart into the words she wrote.

_"And he rarely spoke about her  
But when he did  
He said your mother used to say this  
When the skies are looking bad my dear  
And your heart's lost all its hope  
After dawn there will be sunshine  
And all the dust will go  
Skies will clear my darling  
I'll wake up with the one I love the most  
And in the morning, I'll make you up  
Some tea and toast"_

Quinn opens her eyes and looks around the auditorium, smiling at her friends silently cheering her on. She looks at Carmen and finally notices the intrigued look on the woman's face. Her eyes lock on the slight tapping of Carmen's pen and a big smile spreads out onto her face. She likes it.

_"When they met through a friend  
Who introduced them  
The first thing Tom said was "Would you like to dance?""_

Quinn recalls the conversation she had with her Mum on how she and Russell met. It was the most amusing story as Russell kept on stepping on Judy's feet, not that Judy minded.

_"They moved with each other and when the music got slower  
He said "Don't let go of my hand"  
He said "It's only polite if I ask you tonight  
Would it be alright, if I could walk you home?"  
That night he told her of his birth  
And said when it hurt  
He thought about what his mother said about tea and toast"_

Quinn begins to sway slightly with the guitar, her foot tapping along with the music. She chances a glance at Rachel, happy to see a great big smile on her girlfriends face.

_"Two quick years they went by  
They were side by side  
And without a plan, they conceived a little child  
He said "Women I love you and this you know  
But I only have enough for our food and clothes  
But I love you and this baby  
Until the day that I die"  
She said "We'll take care of this little life  
And we'll fall in love with her big hazel eyes  
And we'll be alright from some advice that I know"  
She said I never got to meet her  
But if I did, I'm sure your mother would have said this"_

As Quinn goes back into the chorus, she mentally prepares herself for what's about to come next. She needs to keep herself from crying. This is where the song takes a different turn, an unexpected turn.

_"Well he took those words  
And he made them proud  
He worked day after day  
And hour after hour  
So they could buy a little house just on the outside of town  
The little girl grew up and so did they  
They said that they loved each other everyday  
And eighteen years later, that brings us to now"_

Quinn takes a deep breath for the long verse and prepares to control her emotions.

_"And as they're dancing in the room  
His grip loosens on her hand  
She puts her arm around his side as he falls to the ground  
She hears him breathing and that's the only sound  
His body on the floor attracts a worried crowd  
Tears roll off her face as she says "Don't let go, now""_

Quinn feels a tear roll down her cheek as images of her Dad collapsing skip through her mind. She opens her eyes and looks to Rachel who has tears of her won rolling down her cheeks. Rachel smiles at her through her tears. Quinn look back at Carmen, but doesn't see her sad look through her tears.

_"And she's sitting by his bed in the hospital ward  
And their daughter walks in with a friend of her own  
She says "Mum, I don't know if he can hear you now  
but there's one thing Dad would want you to know"  
When the skies are looking bad my dear  
And your heart's lost all its hope  
After dawn there will be sunshine  
And all the dust will go  
Skies will clear my darling  
Now it's time for you to let go  
I'm gonna wake you up in the morning  
With some tea and toast"_

Claps sound from behind Carmen, causing the stern woman to jump slightly. Quinn wipes away her tears and removes her guitar. She stands tall with her back straight, awaiting to hear from Carmen.

Carmen tidies up her papers and looks at Quinn from over her glasses "Thank you Miss Fabray. That was...very moving. May I ask who that was about?"

Quinn nods "It-" She clears her throat, having squeaked slightly because of the tears "It was about my late Father"

Carmen nods once and stands up "He must be very proud where he is" She says before walking out.

Quinn releases a breathe she didn't know she was holding. She turns to Rachel who's made her way onto the stage, a smile on her face.

"Is that a good sign?" She asks with a chuckle.

Rachel's smile widens and she nods "It was a very good sign"

...

**There you go guys! I hope you enjoyed it. Next chapter will be the soccer championship, we find out if Quinn get's into OSU and it's Regionals and possibly some other fun stuff!**

**Until next time!**

**xx**_  
_


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey guys. I'm sorry for the extreme lateness of this chapter. It is now Beta-d!**

**Thank you all for the reviews, I loved each of them. I hope this chapter will spark an interest for most of you ;)**

* * *

A moan escapes Quinn's lips when her back collides with the metal of the changing room lockers as the tiny Diva forcefully pushed her against them, attaching her lips to Quinn's neck. Her assault carried on down to Quinn's bare collarbones before moving up the blonde's jaw. Quinn's fingers tangle in Rachel's hair, pulling the brunette closer to her as she sucks on a sensitive spot between the bottom of Quinn's jaw line and where her neck starts.

They weren't meant to be doing this. They were meant to be getting changed and joining their fellow teammates out on the McKinley soccer pitch and get ready for the most important game of the season. But as soon as Quinn saw Rachel remove her t-shirt and reveal her toned stomach to the blonde, Quinn couldn't stop herself and practically pounced on Rachel.

Rachel's hot breaths against Quinn's skin cause goose bumps to rise on the blonde's skin. A shiver travels down her spine when Rachel's hand ghosts up her soccer shorts clad thigh, teasingly slipping underneath the material.

"Q! Dwarf! Stop sucking face and come out on the pitch" Santana says, smacking her hand on the red lockers. The two girls spring apart in fright, their chests heaving as they both glare at the unapologetic Latina. "Hey, don't look at me like that. We have a game to win and then you can go back to dry humping" She says and then leaves the locker room, the door squeaking shut after her.

Quinn chuckles at Rachel's pout as the brunette moves back from her. She picks up their discarded soccer shirts and throws one at Rachel's face.

"Santana does have bad timing" Rachel grumbles whilst she slips on the shirt. She waits Quinn to slip on hers before reaching out and taking the blonde's hand.

"She loves cock blocking" Quinn explains as she leads the two of them out of the locker room and to the soccer pitch. "She's probably getting me back for all the times I cock blocked her and Brittany"

Rachel waves at her Dads, Puck and Judy who are standing in the stands, their faces painted red to, as her fathers claimed, 'get into the team spirit'. "But why me as well? I didn't have anything to do with your cock blocking"

"I beg to differ Dwarf." Santana says, walking up to the couple leisurely making their way over to the team "Since you and Q have gotten hitched, you've practically been an extra limb on her body. So by default, the cock blocking extends to you" She says with a smirk.

Quinn rolls her eyes when Santana then decides to stand between the two of them, causing their hand holding to break and she throws her arms around their shoulders. "You ready to beat some asses, bitches?" She asks as they approach Coach and the team.

After a good old fashioned pep talk from Coach, the team splits and everyone runs off to their positions. Quinn stretches her legs a little and runs to the middle of the pitch, shaking hands with the Captain of the Carmel team with distaste.

Let the games begin.

* * *

The ball flies through the air, spinning so rapidly, it's hard to tell which parts are black and which are white. The ball has just become a blur of black and white. Quinn's body automatically begins to run backwards in order to gain the ball before the Carmel defender. She quickly looks to her right and sees Santana dodge past one of the defenders and getting into an empty clearing.

Looking back to the ball, Quinn jumps up and allows it to bounce of her chest to her feet. As soon as the black and white mixes with the green of the grass, Quinn is off.

She moves as fast as a praying mantis, easily dodging the Carmel defenders and midfielders. She scans the area, biting her lip nervously upon seeing Santana know blocked by a relentless defender.

"Quinn!"

Quinn's head whips round to the sound of Rachel's voice. She smiles when she spots the smaller brunette in an empty clearing and quickly passes the ball over to her. She then sprints up the field, running past her opponents. She moves close to the goal, causing the player blocking Santana to move away and begin blocking Quinn.

Rachel makes eye contact with Quinn as she kicks the ball between an unsuspecting player's legs. When she sees the head nod to Santana, Rachel knows what Quinn wishes her to do and boots the ball over to the awaiting Latina. Santana easily catches the ball and begins to run over to the goal. The player blocking Quinn once again moves to run over to Santana. Quinn notices the hesitance in the Latina's eyes. Two players are charging towards the Latina and she's only a few yards away from the goal.

"Take the shot!" Quinn shouts, prompting Santana.

Santana glances at her and with a determined look in her eye, kicks the ball over to the goal. The sound of the ball hitting the net is all Quinn hears and she cheers loudly, along with the rest of her team and charges over to Santana. She jumps onto Santana's back and kisses the top of her head.

The rest of the team join them in the celebration, each hugging or patting Santana on the back. Quinn finally jumps off Santana's back when the referee blows the whistle for half time and Coach calls them all over.

"Well played first half girls. We're leading by one point." Coach says, causing cheers to sound around her. "If you keep this up" She shouts over their cheers "We will win this!".

The girls all cheer again and jump up and down. Roz looks to Quinn and nods, moving to allow Quinn to step up in front of her team.

"Who are we?" She shouts.

"Winners!" The team replies.

Quinn beams "I said, WHO ARE WE?" She shouts louder, her voice becoming deep as she shouts.

"Winners!"

"Who are they?" She asks, pointing over the resting Carmel team.

"Losers!"

"What are we going to do?"

"Win!"

Quinn whoops with the rest of the team "Fuck yeah we are!"

"Quinn" Roz scolds lightly. Quinn smiles sheepishly at her, following her team back to the pitch as the referee calls them back for the rest of the game.

Santana grabs hold of Quinn's arm "We need a plan"

Quinn bites her lip and nods "Keep the ball away from them." She says. She then calls her team over into a group huddle. "Alright guys, in order for us to win this, make sure Carmel hardly ever have the ball. If any of you have the ball, pass it to either myself, Santana or Rachel. If neither of us are free, go ahead and pass it to anyone who is or if you're near the goal, take the shot. Got it?"

The ref calls them all into position, breaking up their group huddle. Quinn makes eye contact with the captain of Carmel and sneers at her.

"Your team's going down, Fabray"

Quinn scoffs, "Think again, Collins," she sneers right back before the ref blows her whistle and the ball is thrown back into play.

* * *

They have five minutes. Five minutes left to win the game. The scores are currently drawn, both teams having three goals each. One more and they'll win. Only one more goal.

Quinn wipes at the sweat on her forehead as she lightly jogs up the pitch, watching as her team's defenders fight of the advancing Carmel team.

4 minutes.

She smiles when Rachel cleanly tackles one of the offenders and kicks the ball to Ramona. The forever hair colour changing girl dribbles the ball up the pitch and smoothly passes it over to Brittany.

3 minutes.

With Brittany's advantage of having long legs and being a dancer, she's able to easily dodge the oncoming Carmel team. Her moves are flawless and she looks like she's doing a well rehearsed dance around the Carmel players. Brittany waves at Quinn and easily passes over to the smaller Blonde. Quinn easily catches the ball and turns, dribbling closer to the goal.

2 minutes.

The same Carmel player from before is blocking Santana, her oddly large frame stopping Santana from getting past. Quinn continues on, praying that Santana will be able to get past the defender. Panic flows through her when she spots two other defenders running towards her.

1 minute.

Quinn quickly glances around, but everyone is trying to get past Carmel players. Rachel's trapped behind a girl that's incredibly tall. Her head is barely able to be seen over the girl's shoulder.

30 seconds.

Quinn looks ahead and sees the Captain charging towards her, a evil smile on the girl's lips. Quinn glares at her and pushes forward. Her eyes pick out the slight turn of the girl's body. She's going to slide tackle her. As the Captain begins to slide forward, Quinn puts pressure on her cleats and pushes off from the ground, kicking the ball up with her. She jumps over the Captain's sliding body and easily dodges past the other defender. She doesn't stop to celebrate.

10 seconds.

Adrenaline pumps through her body as her heart beats heavily in her chest. She can vaguely hear the cheer of the crowd and her teammates, but the sound of her blood pumping covers it up.

5 seconds.

Her foot lifts off the ground and pulls back. With force, Quinn kicks the ball. However, as soon as her foot makes contact with the ball, she realizes her mistake. She had toe-punted the ball straight at the goalie.

3 seconds.

Her eyes widen as the ball hits the goalie squarely in the chest, sending the goalie onto their back, winded from the ball. The ball bounces in front of the goal, moving a little closer.

2 seconds.

The ball bounces again and slowly tips forward. Everyone on and around the pitch all take in a breath.

The ref's whistle blows, ringing in all their ears. But all eyes are still focused on the ball and the goal. Quinn notices the ref jog past her and up to the goal. Nothing can be heard as everyone stays quiet, all of them on the edge of their seats.

The ref turns round and blows her whistle once again.

"McKinley High Wins!" She bellows.

All is silent. Until Rachel lets out an almighty cheer and charges over to Quinn.

Rachel's cheer sets off the crowd and the rest of their team. All run over to Quinn who is still staring dumbstruck at the goal. She feels Rachel jump onto her like a Koala and wraps her arms around the girl's body and closes her eyes.

She feels the team jump and hug around her, but all she comprehends is Rachel in her arms and the feeling of victory falling around her. Before she knows it, she's hoisted up onto Brittany and Puck's shoulders as the team celebrates.

Quinn spots Roz and her Mum standing on the outside of the massive crowd, both looking at her with pride. Then the ref makes her way through the crowd, a cup in her hand. She passes it up to Quinn who firmly grabs hold of it and brings the cup to her lips. She presses a soft kiss to the metal and then lifts it above her head, letting out a loud cheer.

"Party at my house!" Puck shouts when Quinn is finally let down. A round of cheers is his reply and the crowd begins to disperse, excitement for Puck's party over taking them all.

Quinn laughs to herself and places a hand to the back of her head. Rachel bounces up to her and places a kiss to her cheek.

"We did it" Rachel says gleefully.

"I know. We did" Quinn says, handing the trophy to Coach who places a hand on her shoulder and nods over her shoulder.

Quinn turns round, coming face to face with some very professional looking people.

"Quinn Fabray, I'm Hayden Andrews" A guy with slicked back brown hair says with a smile. He points to the guy stood next to him with curly black hair "and this Matthew Stone. We're from the University of Ohio. Can I just say, it's a pleasure to meet you" Hayden says, holding out a hand to Quinn.

Quinn stares at his hand for a moment before looking at his face "I'd shake your hand but mine's a little sweaty" She says sheepishly.

Hayden smiles at her "Of course, I understand" He drops his hand "We are both blown away by your performance out there. It was spectacular. Whenever we're sent to recruit new members for the sports teams, we always see power hungry players and ball hoggers"

Quinn nods slowly and glances at Rachel nervously.

"But you, you are the first to be a team player. You allowed others to have the chance to score and constantly were on the lookout for your teammates. If you don't win MVP, I will personally complain"

Quinn smiles shyly "Thank you, sir."

Hayden smiles warmly at her "We hope to see you at OSU next year, Miss Fabray. We will be recommending you to the board of Directors. Thank you for such an interesting game"

"You're welcome, Sir"

Hayden and Matthew wave goodbye to Quinn and walk away from the couple.

Rachel beams at Quinn and grabs hold of the blonde's hand and drags her over to the locker room "Come on, you can help me get ready for Noah's party"

* * *

"Sup pretty ladies?" Puck says when he answers the door. His eye rake appreciatively over Quinn and Rachel's clothes, his eyes linger on Rachel's legs which are nicely shown off in a pair of black skinny jeans that Quinn had found in Rachel's dresser.

Quinn glares at Puck and possessively wraps her arm around Rachel's shoulders and barges past him "She's mine, Puckerman" Quinn growls at him.

Puck laughs "I know babe. But can't a man appreciate seeing a beautiful lady when he sees one?"

Quinn scoffs, ignoring the hit Rachel places on her arm. "You're hardly a man"

"Ouch, that hurt" Puck says with a wink before sauntering off into his house.

Rachel tuts at Quinn as the blonde leads them into Puck's kitchen, smiling and saying her 'thanks' to a few people who congratulate her on winning the game. She picks up two empty cups and mixes a drink for her and Rachel.

Rachel sniffs the drink Quinn passes to her before having a little taste. Surprise fills her face. "I can't taste any alcohol" she says.

Quinn smiles at her girlfriend and takes a sip of her drink "If you can taste the alcohol, that's when you know there's too much in the drink"

"Isn't that good, though?"

"Only if you plan on getting drunk."

"What if I am?" Rachel asks, her eyes becoming flirty and she leans closer to Quinn.

Quinn laughs softly and reaches behind her. She grabs hold of the vodka bottle and holds it out to Rachel "Then pour more of this in. But you are not leaving my sight. I have strict instructions from your fathers to look after you" Quinn says softly.

Rachel beams at her and pours some more of the vodka into her cup. She caps the bottle and leans in extremely close to Quinn. She places the bottle behind the blonde and presses her body right against Quinn's, causing the blonde's breath to hitch slightly.

"I won't complain about that" Rachel breathes against Quinn's lips. She smirks at her girlfriend and brings her cup up to her lips, taking a sip from the drink. She slowly licks her lips, watching in delight when Quinn's eyes dart down to follow the action and darken simultaneously.

Rachel moves back and finishes the rest of her cup. "Come on, let's dance" She says, placing her cup down and grabbing hold of Quinn's hand and dragging her over to the make shift dance floor in the living room.

Once in the room, Rachel turns around and grabs hold of Quinn's shirt and begins to walk backwards. Quinn gulps at the sexy look Rachel is sending her and the way her hips are swaying as the petite brunette pulls her forward.

Rachel stops her pulling and lets go of Quinn's shirt and begins to sway her hips in time with the music. A small gap is between Quinn and Rachel, causing temptation to build within Quinn as her fingers twitch by their sides. She licks her lips when Rachel 'slut drops' to the floor before swaying back up, her eyes never leaving Quinn.

_'Oh fuck'_

_'I know, she looks so incredibly sexy'_

_'The look she's given us is making Niagara Falls __form__ in my underwear'_

_'I didn't know someone could move in such a way'_

_'Oh god she's beckoning us closer with her finger and a sexy lip bite'_

_'This girl is going to be the death of us'_

_'You've got that right'_

Quinn is brought out of her thoughts when Rachel places the blonde's hands on her hips and moves into the blonde's arms. Rachel smirks at Quinn and begins to sway them together. She chuckles at the low moan that rumbles in Quinn's throat and presses a kiss to her throat. Quinn's hold on Rachel's hips tightens and she pulls Rachel closer to her.

Rachel chuckles when Quinn begins to loosen up and start to dance more fluidly with her. Their hips sway in time with each other, beating along to the music. Quinn rests her forehead against Rachel's, looking down into the brunette's eyes as they get lost in their own little world. They don't feel the bodies dancing beside them, nor do they hear the laughter and chatting sound from the kitchen. They only see and feel each other.

Another moan escapes Quinn when Rachel turns in Quinn's arm and begins to grind her butt against Quinn's front. Quinn moves her hand from Rachel's hip and softly runs in up Rachel's side. She lightly brushes the side of Rachel's boob, feeling the smaller girl shiver in her arms at the soft touch. Rachel's arm move above her head and wrap around Quinn's neck, pulling the blonde's face down so it's level with her neck.

Quinn's lips drag themselves against the tanned and slightly sweaty skin of Rachel's neck and up to her ear. She breathes lowly into Rachel's ear, her lips brushing the shell of her ear. Rachel shivers again and grinds her butt harder into Quinn.

A tap on Quinn's shoulder causes her to reluctantly away from Rachel and turn to whoever distracted her from her incredibly sexy girlfriend. Her gaze darkens when it falls on the very red face of Finn.

"Yes?" She asks harshly. She feels Rachel stop moving and turn around to face Finn.

Finn gulps nervously at the two glares both of his exes are sending him before he looks straight at Quinn. "Can I talk to you?"

Quinn nods and gestures for him to talk.

"Uh...alone? Please?" He asks, his eyes looking at Rachel nervously.

Quinn sighs and nods. She turns to Rachel and presses a kiss to the girl's forehead. "I'll be right back" She whispers in her ear before following Finn's huge form out to the back garden.

Finn continues walking further into the garden. When he passes Puck's pool, Quinn slows her footsteps, now becoming nervous at how far away they've gotten from the party. The stops at the top of the pool and waits for Finn to realise she's stopped walking.

He turns round and tilts his head to the side "Why have you stopped?"

"Here is far enough, Finn" She says, placing her guard up and crossing her arms over her chest.

Finn nods in understanding and walks up to her. He places his hands into his pockets and looks down at the ground nervously. Quinn waits impatiently as he remembers what to say and how to say it to his ex girlfriend.

What he says really surprises Quinn.

"I'm sorry"

Quinn's arms drop to her sides. "What?"

"I'm sorry for cheating on you with Rachel. I didn't know how much that must have hurt you, until now"

"I-What?"

"After finding out about you and Rachel, I was pissed, y'know. My girlfriend had cheated on me with my ex girlfriend, and not only that, they are both gay. So, for some time, my pride was bruised quite a bit and I wasn't really there for you with what had happened with your Dad. I know we clashed a few times, but I still saw you as a friend."

"Finn-"

"Please, let me finish before you shout at me" He pleads, holding his hand up. With a nod from Quinn, he continues "After I got over my bruised pride and own issues, I began to think about how my relationship with Rachel developed. It was really out of the blue, she never really showed any interest in me before and then one day she just kissed me. I guess, knowing that I couldn't have her really got me excited and so I chased her."

Quinn cringes at him explaining how excited he got, but she lets him continue.

"I realised that how I felt about Rachel cheating on me with you, was probably the same as how you felt with Rachel and me. I feel so shitty for doing that to you Quinn, I really do. But I understand that I did it because I loved Rachel, and part of me still does. Upon realising this, I get now that Rachel didn't cheat on me with you because she wanted to hurt me, or because you wanted to. It was because she loves you and couldn't stay away." **  
**

He pauses and scratches the back of his head. He breaks eye contact with Quinn and looks behind the blonde to the house.

"Looking back, I see how incredibly obvious it was that she loves you. Whenever we were together, all she'd talk about was you, even if it was mean. When you were in the same room as us, she'd be looking at you, or for you, but not me. She'd only kiss me if she saw you kissing or even talking to someone else. It hurts to know she never really loved me, when I really and truly loved her. But I don't blame her. You can't help who you fall in love with. So, I guess I just wanted to apologise to you, for being such a shitty boyfriend to you and also for being a shitty friend."

Quinn bites her lip and watches as Finn shifts on his feet, nervously glancing between her and the door behind her. "I forgive you."

Finn's dopey smile crosses his face at her accepting of his apology "Really? Awesome" He pulls Quinn into a hug, surprising her. She awkwardly hugs him back and is thankful when he finally lets her go. He really smells of sweat and beer.

"I guess I'll see you around?" He asks. Upon receiving a nod from Quinn he smiles brightly at her and begins to walk back into the house. "She really loves you" He says, pausing in his walk to turns back to Quinn. "She's been watching us from the door"

Quinn looks over Finn's shoulder and sure enough, Rachel's standing at the backdoor, watching the pairs interaction nervously. Quinn smiles to herself. "Yeah, I know" She replies to Finn.

He smiles again and waves at her before walking up to the house. Quinn watches as he pauses beside Rachel and begins to talk to her before loosely hugging her as well and moving on. Rachel walks out of the door and makes her way over to Quinn, a puzzled expression on her face.

"So...I just had a strange conversation with Finn" Rachel says once she reaches Quinn.

Quinn laughs and pulls Rachel close to her "So did I. Did it involve apologising and then informing you of how much I love you?" Quinn asks.

Rachel wraps her arms around Quinn's neck and smiles "Something like that."

"How much do you love me?" Quinn asks, leaning her face close to Rachel's.

"Almost as much as I love Broadway" Rachel replies cheekily.

"Only almost?"

Rachel follows Quinn's movements and begins to move in closer to Quinn. "Maybe a bit more"

"Perfect" Quinn whispers, her eyes slipping shut as their lips brush together.

"Hey Losers! 7 minutes in Heaven in five minutes!" Santana shouts out to the two of them, once again cock blocking them.

Quinn sighs and slumps forward, resting her forehead against Rachel's. "One of these days, I'm going to kill that girl" She says.

Rachel giggles and pulls away "Let's go play! I've never played it before!" She says in excitement. She grabs hold of Quinn's hand and practically drags her into the house.

* * *

Laughter fills the den when the bottle lands on Finn. Puck groans at this fact and begrudgingly stands up. Finn, however, shakes his head.

"No. No way am I going there with you."

"Dude, it's not gay if we kiss for a game. It's gay if you enjoy it." Puck says.

"Stop being such a pansy Frankenteen and just go with him" Santana says, her patience with Finn already starting to wear thin.

Finn glares at Santana before standing up to his feet and slowly following Puck into the closet. Quinn chuckles to herself as a thought passes through her head, causing Rachel to look at her questionably.

Quinn leans in close to Rachel. "Finn's going to be coming out ofthe closet soon."

Rachel stares at Quinn for a moment before laughing loudly and gaining the attention of the rest the circle. Quinn looks round at the faces as her girlfriend laughs at her joke and frowns. The only people here are the Glee kids. Puck must have kicked everyone else from the Party out.

All attention is taken away from Rachel when Finn stumbles out of the closet-causing Rachel to laugh harder- and furiously wipes at his mouth. He glares at Puck before storming over to his spot on the floor. He doesn't look at anyone and instead, decides to glare at the carpet.

"What is so funny?" Santana asks, eyeing Rachel warily.

"F-Finn's coming out-of t-the closet!" Rachel manages to say through her laughs.

When the circle catch on to what she means, laughter begins to fill the room, all aimed at Finn. Finn's scowl deepens and he still refuses to move his gaze from the carpet. Quinn takes pity on him, it's not fair that he's the butt of the joke.

"Who's next?" Quinn asks, taking everyone's attention away from Finn. Quinn spots the grateful look Finn shoots her and she smiles back at him.

"Mike's"

The plays go on as follows:

Mike and Brittany-much to Santana's annoyance, Tina and Artie, Santana and Joe and finally Puck and Sugar.

Rachel and Quinn have yet to be picked.

"Your turn, Rachel" **  
**

Rachel claps happily and give the bottle a big spin. She bounces in her seat-which has now become Quinn's lap- and eagerly waits for it to stop spinning. When the tip of the bottle finally stops, pointing at herself, Rachel beams excitedly.

"Quinn!"

"Nuh uh, that landed on you, Berry" Santana protests, finding it extremely unfair that Rachel get's to go into the closet with her girlfriend whilst Santana was lumped with Trouty Mouth.

"Shut up Santana." Puck says, his eye glazing over. "That landed on Quinn" he finishes after coming out of his fantasy.

Rachel jumps up from Quinn's lap and smirks at the blonde as she pulls her up from the ground. They both vaguely hear the wolf whistle from Puck as they make their way into the closet. Quinn's eyes follow the sway of Rachel's hips and slowly dart down to the curve of her butt. It's only when they're encased in darkness does Quinn look away.

As soon as Quinn's eyes make contact with where she guesses Rachel's head is, she feels soft, plump lips press against hers immediately.

Her hands run down Rachel's slender hips before grabbing hold of the smaller girl's thighs. She tugs on the Diva's legs, letting the smaller girl know exactly where she'd like them. Rachel jumps up and wraps her legs around Quinn's waist, moaning when her back hits the closet's back wall roughly. Her hands tangle in choppy golden locks as their tongues continue to battle for dominance.

Quinn feels the familiar heat in her abdomen and thrusts herself into Rachel, a moan slipping past both of their lips at the friction her movement caused. Quinn's softly runs her hands up Rachel's thighs, massaging the jean clad skin beneath her hands.

"I want you" Quinn mumbles against Rachel's lips. She removes herself from the delicious, plump lips and begins to trail kisses down the Diva's neck. "I want you so much" she says before sucking on the sensitive skin on Rachel's neck.

Rachel releases a purr like sound from within her throat at Quinn's words and actions and tugs the blonde closer to her. The purr Rachel had released caused the fire in Quinn's abdomen to tighten and caused her to suck harder on the girl's neck, just hoping she'll make that sound again.

"Times up ladies!" Puck says from the other side of the door.

Quinn and Rachel break away from each other as the door opens and stare hungrily at each other. Quinn's eyes dart down to Rachel's chest where, during their make-out session, her top buttons on her blouse had popped open and revealed the girl's cleavage. Quinn's eyes follow the heaving movement of the girl's chest and she licks her lips.

"We should get out of here" She whispers.

"Agreed"

Quinn grabs hold of Rachel's hand and drags her through the room to Puck's front door.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Puck asks, chasing the two very aroused girls.

"Thanks for the party Puck" Quinn shouts out hurriedly as she and Rachel rush down to Quinn's car.

Just as Quinn's about to open her door, she feel Rachel turn her around and push her against the door. Quinn moans when her favourite lips attach themselves to her and eagerly suck on her bottom lip.

"Make love to me, Quinn" Rachel whispers against the blonde's lips as she pulls away, her eyes dark and sure.

Quinn nods dumbly and climbs into the car, ready to take her girl home.

* * *

**Don't hate me for ending it there. It will continue into the next chapter, so don't worry, I will not be skipping any smut ;) But I will warn you, I'm not very good at writing smut so you might have to bear with me on the next chapter :D.**

**Thank you all for reading!**

**xx**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello guys! I have got this chapter done and dusted for you. My Beta suggested to me to not include Regionals into this chapter as it would ruin the tone I set at the end. But I promise Regionals WILL be in the next chapter!**

**Thank you all for the reviews. I loved all of them.**

** I am sorry for the cringe worthy smut in this chapter.**

**A very special thank you to my Beta who helped me with making this chapter legible and stopping me from using a certain word too many times ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The sound of the engine stopping is the only thing that can be heard between the two girls. Quinn stares up at her parent-free house and sighs softly, thankful that her Mum decided to go visit her sister this weekend. She turns her head to her oddly quiet girlfriend and smiles softly at the girl's nervous expression. Quinn reaches across the console and grasps Rachel's idle hand.

Rachel looks up from her lap and meets Quinn's kind and caring eyes. Her nerves seem to halt slightly at the blonde's small smile and her thumb rubbing the skin on the back of Rachel's hand. Quinn lifts it up to her lips and gently presses a kiss to it.

Quinn wordlessly gets out from the car and makes her way round to Rachel's side. She helps the brunette out of the car and holds her shaking hand as they make their way up the drive way. Quinn stops in front of the door, her keys in her hand, and turns to Rachel.

"Before we go in, I need to know that you are completely sure about this and one hundred percent sober." She says softly.

A smile forms on Rachel's face and she nods. "I'm sure." She replies. She takes a tiny step forward and presses a kiss against Quinn's lips. "I'm ready."

Quinn nods and turns to open the front door. She guides Rachel into the house and softly closes the door behind her. Both she and Rachel quietly remove their shoes, their eyes locked on one another. The shy glances they're shooting each other are completely opposite to the hungry and lustful looks they had only ten minutes ago. Quinn takes off her coat and helps Rachel out of hers before leading her up the stairs to her room.

Rachel's eyes run over the many photos along the wall as they make their way to Quinn's room. Every time she comes to the Fabray home, she always takes her time to stop and stare at all the photos. She has most of them engraved in her mind. If asked, Rachel could go into full detail about her favourite photo.

It's a photo of Quinn at about two years old. She's standing in the Fabray's garden, the play house she had in the background. Quinn is staring at the camera with a bright smile, the very smile that causes Rachel's stomach to flip today. Even though the smile is completely innocent, the mud pie by Quinn's feet and the mud on her cheek, torso and legs are not. Rachel remembers when Russell had first told her of that story. Quinn had given up on making the mud pie and instead decided to play about in it.

Rachel is brought out of her thoughts at Quinn's soft calling of her name. Quinn's back is to the door of her bedroom, her eyes focused solely on Rachel.

"Wait here." Quinn says before rushing into her room.

Quinn runs into her bathroom and digs out the candles and bag of rose petals she had left under her bathroom counter a few weeks ago. She strategically places the candles around her room, careful to avoid putting them anywhere near anything flammable. Once satisfied with the placement of the candles, she starts on sorting out the rose petals.

She makes a trail from her door up to her bed-quickly rids the sheets of any creases before laying a whole load upon her black patterned bed sheets. She fluffs up her pillows and places them against the head board.

Satisfied, Quinn then lights all the candles, smiling when the smell of cinnamon and apple fill her room. She knows this is corny, but she also knows Rachel would love it.

Clearing her throat, Quinn opens up her door, smiling when she sees Rachel waiting patiently. She holds her hand out for the girl to take and guides her in, smiling when Rachel gasps. Quinn closes the door softly and walks towards Rachel so she's flushed right against the smaller girl's back.

"This is wonderful." Rachel whispers, her eyes running over the petals and candles. She turns around, her eyes landing on Quinn's face. She smiles at how beautiful Quinn looks in the soft candle light. Her eyes are sparkling brightly, sparks flying through them with every flicker of the candle flames around them.

Quinn runs her fingers up Rachel's arms, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Her eyes stay locked on Rachel's as her hands run over the smooth skin of Rachel's shoulders before gently cupping the back of her neck. Quinn takes a tiny step forward so Rachel's toes and hers are touching. Her thumbs gently rub at the underside of Rachel's jaw. She smiles in delight when Rachel takes in a shuddering breath and her eyes slowly flutter closed.

Slowly, Quinn leans forward and presses the softest of kisses against Rachel's lips. A content sigh leaves Rachel's mouth and her hands grasp onto Quinn's hips. With one last kiss, Quinn pulls back and removes her hands from Rachel's neck. Her finger playfully toy with the bottom of Rachel's shirt as her eyebrow raises in silent question. Upon seeing Rachel nod, Quinn slowly lifted up the girl's shirt, making sure to touch the firm skin beneath her fingers as she did so.

Once her shirt is off, Rachel copies Quinn's movements and removes the blonde's. Her eyes immediately draw to the red lace bra covering Quinn's perfect mounds. She licks her lips when she notices the slight bumps sticking through the material. She looks back up at Quinn, feeling her stomach flip at the intense and hungry look Quinn is shooting her.

Before Rachel can blink, Quinn's lips are against hers once more. A moan escapes Rachel when she feels the blonde's tongue enter her mouth. Quinn slowly pushes Rachel backwards, not once breaking the kiss as she guides her to the bed. Even when the back of Rachel's knees hit the edge of the mattress and she flops down onto the quilts, Quinn still doesn't break the kiss.

Quinn slowly pulls away from the kiss to smile adoringly at Rachel. She leans forward, her hand resting either side of Rachel's body as she admires her girlfriends face. Her hand pushes back a strand of brown hair behind a delicate ear. Rachel blushes at the action, casting her eyes to the floor.

"How did I get so lucky?" Quinn whispers, watching Rachel with awe.

Rachel smiles back and as a response, she grabs hold of Quinn's hips and begins to guide the blonde further up the bed with her, stealing a few kisses, teasing Quinn as she does so. Quinn groans when Rachel places hot, open mouthed kisses against her neck. Her hands clutch the bed sheets tightly as the sucking and kisses on her neck send waves of pleasure throughout her body. Quinn's hand releases sheets and move to Rachel's shoulders, gently pushing the girl back.

Quinn answers Rachel's questioning look by moving her hands onto Rachel's back and fiddling with her bra clip. Quinn's eyes darken when Rachel bites her lip and nods, looking at Quinn with half lidded eyes. With a flick of her wrist, Rachel's bra pings open, causing both girls to giggle softly. Quinn once again moves her hands to Rachel's shoulders and begins to slowly remove the girl's bra straps.

Rachel helps Quinn remove her bra and blushes under Quinn's gaze when the blonde's eyes zero in on Rachel's bare breasts. The brunette watches Quinn slowly lick her lips before she moves forward and presses a soft, lingering kiss onto Rachel's mouth.

"You're so beautiful." Quinn whispers before softly cupping Rachel's perfect breast in her hand.

When Quinn begins to play with Rachel's nipple, Rachel moans loudly and flops her head back against the pillow. A smirk pulls up on Quinn's lips when Rachel's moans become louder and more urgent with each pinch and flick of her nipple. Not being able to help herself, Quinn leans down and takes a pebbled peak in between her lips, flicking her tongue over it a couple of times before she starts to suck, her free hand beginning to play with Rachel's neglected breast.

Rachel's moans are the only sounds in the room as Quinn continues to assault her breasts. Rachel's hands tangle in Quinn's hair while she arches her back off of the bed, desperately trying to get closer to Quinn. Her legs wrap around Quinn's waist and she thrusts upwards, causing the blonde to moan against her chest .

Quinn releases Rachel's breast with a wet 'pop' and repeats her actions with Rachel's other nipple . Rachel pants heavily as Quinn's actions continue to send wave upon wave of pleasure through her body and straight to her core. Quinn finally moves away from Rachel's breasts and kisses a path down the brunette's well toned stomach. She pauses at the waistband of Rachel's jeans and teasingly dips her tongue past the seam. Upon hearing Rachel's whine, Quinn looks up at her writhing girlfriend and smirks.

"What's wrong, baby?" Quinn huskily asks against Rachel's skin. She peppers kisses over the smooth, tan skin. She moves from Rachel's left hip to her right one, pausing to suck on the skin just above the jeans' button.

Rachel pants heavily, looking down at Quinn with hungry and aroused eyes. "I need you." She moans.

Quinn's fingers pop open the button on Rachel's jeans and slowly pulls down her zipper. She smirks upon seeing black lace underwear hidden under the denim. "Did you hope you'd get lucky tonight?" She asks, beginning to teasingly pull down Rachel's jeans.

Rachel writhes against the bed when Quinn runs her hands over the smooth skins of her legs and up to her throbbing core. The blonde's finger tips gently brush the material of her underwear before moving away to run down Rachel's legs, caressing her calves and thighs.

"Y-yes." Rachel moans when Quinn repeats her teasing actions. She growls in anger at her girlfriend, becoming desperate to feel Quinn inside of her.

Quinn places a trail of kisses up Rachel's legs, nipping at her thighs as she does so. When her nose comes into contact with Rachel's soaked core, Quinn moans. The smell is intoxicating, Quinn's mouth simply waters at it. She presses a kiss to the material covering Rachel's soaking pussy before moving back up her girlfriend so they're face to face. Her right hand toys with the lace underwear whilst her left is pressed against the mattress, keeping her weight off of Rachel.

"Are you ready?" Quinn asks kindly, shocking Rachel. Only moments ago, Quinn was being playful and being an agonizing tease. But now, she's become the caring girlfriend once more. It causes Rachel's heart to swell with love.

Rachel grabs the back of Quinn's neck and pulls her down into a passionate kiss. When they pull back, Rachel smiles nervously at Quinn and says, "I really love you."

Quinn's smile is the brightest smile Rachel's ever seen the blonde smile. "I love you too." Quinn replies. Her fingers dip past the waistband of Rachel's underwear. "So much." She whispers, pressing a chaste kiss to Rachel's lips.

Quinn moves her index finger so it's only just touching Rachel's hard clit at first. She then dips her finger down to the wetness at Rachel's entrance before bringing it back to the little bundle of nerves waiting to be touched by someone other than Rachel.

A gasp escapes Rachel when Quinn begins to gently rub her clit. Her hips spasm up into Quinn's and she grabs at the blonde's back, pulling her closer. Quinn presses a wet, open mouthed kiss to Rachel's neck as she begins to rub Rachel's clit faster and harder, relishing in the hot breathy moans sounding in her ear.

"Q-Quinn." Rachel breathes out, her eyes closed tightly. Her breathes become shorter and more regular as Quinn begins to build up Rachel's orgasm. Rachel's hands tighten on Quinn's back and her legs wrap tightly around Quinn's waist. Her hips thrust up in time to Quinn's rubs as she gets closer to her orgasm.

Just as she feels herself tipping over, Quinn stops her ministrations, causing a frustrated groan to leave Rachel's lips. Before Rachel can voice her protests, however, she feels Quinn's finger slowly begin to enter her. She tenses at the unfamiliar intrusion.

Quinn moves her head away from Rachel's neck and looks at her with concern. "You okay?" She asks softly.

With her eyes still closed, Rachel nods. "Y-yeah..." She says. She takes a deep breath, allowing herself time to relax and get used to the unfamiliar feeling. "Okay. Go." Rachel opens her eyes and looks right into Quinn's eyes, her face determined and highly aroused.

Quinn nods and waits for Rachel's walls to relax before continues to slowly push her finger into Rachel. She bites down a moan at how tight Rachel is around her finger, her own arousal growing even more than it already has. Making sure Rachel is fine, Quinn begins to thrust her finger in and out of Rachel, keeping her movements slow to give her time to get used to it.

"More."

With Rachel's command, Quinn speeds up her movement. Rachel's hips and Quinn's hand move in time with each other. A smirk forms on Quinn's lips at the sound of her girlfriend's quickening breaths and moans.

With one last thrust, Quinn curls her fingers up, hitting the right spot and sending Rachel over the edge.

Rachel's back lifts of the mattress as a wave of white hot pleasure washes over her. She vaguely registers her loud moan as her body twitches underneath Quinn. She feels Quinn place gentle kisses over her skin, but her mind is still stuck on the powerful orgasm riding through her body.

Quinn eases Rachel out of her orgasm and slowly retracts her fingers. She places her hands either side of Rachel's head and smiles down at her still moaning and panting girlfriend. She kisses Rachel's closed eye lids and her nose.

However, Quinn pauses when she doesn't seem to get a response from her girlfriend. Pulling back, Quinn surveys her girlfriend's face. Her eyes are closed, her chest is rising and falling and her breathes are deep.

Then a snore sounds.

Laughter bubbles out of Quinn and mixes with Rachel's soft snores. Quinn kicks off her trousers and underwear before pulling the covers over herself and Rachel. She pulls the girl into her arms, smiling when Rachel automatically moves to fit snugly against Quinn. Another chuckle escapes Quinn just as she's about to fall asleep.

Rachel fell asleep.

Quinn must have done well.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**xx**


	23. Chapter 23

**Hello people! Yes that's right I have the next chapter finished. It is Regionals in this chapter, I have not avoided it or missed it out so don't you worry! Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter, I'm happy that people are still reading this story AND enjoying it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the songs used in this chapter and/or mentioned in this chapter. Or the shows.**

* * *

"Hey Dad." Quinn softly says, her eyes running over the black marble head stone. She squats down to her knees, the flowers she brought with her resting in her hands. "So, it's been 3 months, 2 days and 24 minutes since I last saw you and spoke to you. A lot has changed since then."

A raven caws as it flies over Quinn's head, momentarily distracting the blonde. Quinn watches as the raven flies over to a nearby tree and perches itself on top of a branch.

Quinn turns back to the head stone and looks over the inscription. "For starters, I've written more songs. You and Rachel are kind of my muse's when it comes to the songs. Mum's finally decided to start her own florist shop. Do you remember when she had spent a week setting out plans for it? She got so excited about it all. But then Grandpa fell ill and she had to take care of him."

Quinn thinks back to that day. Judy had put aside all of her plans and used the money she was saving for the shop to fly over to Arizona and look after Grandpa. The plans got stored away in a cabinet and weren't touched until a few months ago.

"Rachel and I are finally together, Dad." Quinn laughs and scratches at her eyebrow. "I know, about time right?" The blonde can hear her father's laughter in her ear. "I grew some balls and took a chance. It wasn't easy, believe me. But we're together and I'm happy."

Quinn looks over her shoulder to Rachel who's waiting for her patiently by the car in her regionals outfit. Quinn smiles at her girlfriend and turns back to her Dad.

"We won the championship game, just like you said we would. I still have yet to hear from Ohio State. I also sang one of my songs for my NYADA audition. Rachel said that Carmen seemed impressed but I'm not getting my hopes up."

Tears gently fall onto the flowers as Quinn thinks about how Russell wasn't there to see it. How she couldn't look into the stands at the championship game and see the proud face of Russell.

Quinn sniffs and wipes at her tears. "I haven't forgotten about you. I miss you every day. It's hard to know you're not there in the mornings when I wake up, or at home watching the football when I get back from School. But I'm trying to get through it. Not just for me but for Mum and for Rachel. It's still not easy, but it's better. Rachel makes it all better."

Quinn places the flowers down in front of Russell's grave. "Rachel's got regionals to go to today. I haven't been in Glee recently so I won't be joining her and the glee club on stage. I've been finding it hard, y'know, dealing with this. I just didn't want the glee kids asking me tons of questions. But I'll be in the crowd, cheering her on."

The raven perched on the branch tilts its head at Quinn and caws at her.

"Yes I will cheer them on for you as well." Quinn chuckles again and stands up. "I'll talk to you soon, okay? Bye Dad, I love you."

Once Quinn approaches Rachel, the Diva automatically wraps her arms around Quinn's slender frame and pulls her into a hug. Quinn places her chin on top of Rachel's head and takes in a deep breath, reigning in her impending emotions.

"Come on." Rachel says, pulling away from Quinn and taking hold of her hand. "The others are waiting."

"'bout Time you losers got here!" Santana huffs as Quinn and Rachel approach the bus.

"We lost track of time." Rachel replies, her eyes on Quinn.

Santana's eyes narrow at the look Rachel is sending Quinn. Then it clicks.

"No way." She gasps, a devilish smirk appearing on her face. "You two finally did the deed!"

Finn pokes his head out of the bus doors, along with Puck having heard Santana's exclamation. "What deed?" The tall boy asks.

A sly smile appears on Puck's face when he realises exactly what Santana means. "That's so hot."

"What is? What's the deed?" Finn asks getting increasingly confused and slightly frustrated.

"They slept together." Puck whispers to him as his eyes become glazed over.

Finn looks between Quinn and Rachel, trying to figure out how Santana figured it out. But then images of the two of them pop into his head.

"Mailman." He chants to himself before disappearing back into the bus, dragging a still daydreaming Puck with him.

Quinn smirks at Rachel who presses a kiss to her lips. "See you later, lover." Rachel whispers, winking at the blonde before walking towards the bus. She grabs hold of Santana who's still looking at Quinn with big round eyes and promises Santana she'll inform her of it all once they get on the bus.

* * *

_**Three hours earlier**_

_The sun beams in through the window and shines over the sleeping body of Rachel Berry. Quinn's eyes follow the path the sun makes over the tanned back, drinking in the beauty that is her girlfriend._

_Quinn smiles at how cute Rachel looks. The sheets are pooled at Rachel's waist, showing off her toned, smooth back. Her face is pressed against the pillow, her hair is a wild mess spread out among the pillow and a very small yet very bright smile adorns her face._

_All in all, Quinn has the cutest sleeping girlfriend in the world._

_Though, she may just be biased but that's just details._

_Quinn's slender finger begins to draw a simple pattern upon the exposed, soft skin of Rachel's back and slowly moves further up to the nape of Rachel's neck. She chuckles when a quiet giggle escapes her sleeping girlfriend and the brunette burrows further into the pillows._

_Leaning down, Quinn replaces her fingers with light, delicate kisses. She continues her kissing up Rachel's neck to her cheek, trying to softly rouse the girl from her slumber. Quinn restrains herself from doing a little victory dance once Rachel's eyes begin to flutter open._

"_Morning sleepyhead." Quinn whispers as she rests her head down onto the pillow, her eyes trained on Rachel._

_Rachel squints at her and peers around the room, seemingly forgotten where she is. Recognition flares in her eyes and she moves onto her back, causing her breasts to be on show. Quinn watches with hungry eyes and a dry mouth as Rachel's breasts push up into the air due to the smaller girl stretching. Pebbled nipples stand proudly on the small rounds of flesh._

"_What time is it?" Rachel asks through a yarn. She has yet to notice the direction Quinn's eyes are looking. Rachel scratches her head then falls back into mattress, her arm crossing over her naked stomach._

_That's when Rachel finally realises._

"_Half past Eight__." Rachel does not hear Quinn's answer for she is too pre-occupied with something else at the moment._

_She looks down, spotting how the skin on her bare arm is touching her bare stomach. She then notices her breasts aren't covered up. With rising panic, Rachel holds the covers up and looks at her naked body. She then looks at Quinn's equally naked body. Then, it all comes flooding back to her._

_The romantic setting Quinn had sorted out for her. The berry scented candles creating a warm lighting throughout the room, the rose petals leading up to the bed. The remembrance of Quinn's soft and delicate touches ghost over her skin, repeating the trail Quinn had taken a few hours ago. Finally, Rachel remembers the sensation of pure pleasure running throughout her body and the bliss she felt in that moment, wrapped in Quinn's arms._

_She remembers all of that, but then it goes black. She can't remember what happened after she came out of her moment of bliss._

"_Hey."_

_Quinn's whisper brings Rachel out of her thoughts. She looks over at her blonde girlfriend and notes the worried look on her beautiful face._

"_What's wrong?"_

_Guilt flows into Rachel upon seeing the slight panic in Quinn's eyes. She must think Rachel is freaking out. If she's honest, to begin with, Rachel was. Who wouldn't if they woke up naked in their girlfriend's bed after experiencing her...first...orgasm..._

_Rachel's thoughts trail off when she realises how stupid she was. The correct question is: Who would freak out if they woke up naked in their girlfriend's bed after the best night of their life?_

_Rachel Berry, that's who._

"_Nothing." Rachel replies, smiling at Quinn. She sighs happily and shuffles closer to the blonde. A tanned hand rests on a pale cheek. "Nothing at all."_

"_You looked like you were freaking out there."_

"_Honestly, I was at first. But then I remembered how amazing last night was. How amazing you were."_

_A bashful smile pulls up on Quinn's face and she takes Rachel's hand off her cheek, placing a kiss upon the skin of Rachel's hand._

"_I was amazing, huh?" Quinn asks, all traces of bashfulness gone from her and instead, confidence and cockiness taking its place._

_Rachel feigns indifference. "Eh, you were alright."_

_All of a sudden, a Quinn being is rolled on top of Rachel and short blonde locks tickle Rachel's nose. Quinn raises an eyebrow at Rachel._

"_I was 'alright'?" Quinn asks, her finger trailing over Rachel's lips and down her neck. A smirk appears on Quinn's face when she hears Rachel suck in a shaky breath. "I thought you said I was amazing."_

_Rachel shakes herself out of her lust-filled state (which was extremely hard for her what with having a naked Quinn on top of her.) and puts her acting skills to the test. She puts on a face of indifference and shrugs her shoulders. "I've had better."_

_If possible, Quinn's eyebrow seems to rise higher. "Oh? And who is this person?" Her finger moves from Rachel's neck down her chest. She teasingly circles Rachel's nipple, watching Rachel's reactions very carefully. A satisfied look crosses her face when Rachel breaks out of her indifferent character for a second._

"_You might know her." Rachel replies, her arms coming up to wrap round Quinn's neck. "She's captain of the soccer team at school..."_

_Quinn smiles and hums, her finger continuing to circle Rachel's nipple. Rachel smirks at Quinn and leans up, her lips very lightly brushing with Quinn's. Her smirk deepens when Quinn's finger stops its movements._

"_...In glee club, most likely to get an offer from NYADA and OSU..."_

_Quinn scoffs and rolls her eyes at Rachel's words. Rachel ignores her and removes her hands from Quinn's neck, dragging them down the blonde's back before stopping at the sheets pooled at Quinn's waist._

"_And she has a rather nice ass." Rachel husks against Quinn's lips before moving her hands to grab hold of Quinn's ass._

_The corners of the blonde's lips turn up as her eyes gaze down at Rachel lovingly and lustfully. With a lift of her hips, Rachel rotates the two of them so she's now laying on top of Quinn, her very wet core resting on the blonde's thigh._

_Not moving her lips away from Quinn's, Rachel chuckles and says "I believe I need to repay this girl for last night."_

_Quinn lips her licks, her eyes darting down to where Rachel's spreading her wetness over her thigh. "You don't need-"_

_Rachel cuts Quinn off by pressing their lips together. She allows their lips to move against one another for a moment before pulling away. "I want to." She whispers before kissing Quinn once again, her hand beginning to travel south._

_Quinn laughs into the kiss and pulls Rachel closer to her._

_Who is she to argue?_

* * *

Quinn is brought out of her memory of her and Rachel's morning together by the nudge in her hip. She rubs at her dry eyes, having zoned out for quite some time and looks over at Leroy, silently hoping he can't tell what she had just been thinking about.

However, Quinn is not in luck as Leroy has guessed what Quinn was thinking about from her blown pupils and red cheeks. He smirks at Quinn which only causes her blush to deepen.

"New Directions are on next." He informs her.

Quinn looks around, finally noticing the slowly fading clapping and the curtains on the stage closing to give time for the New Directions to get into their places. Did she really zone out for the whole other two groups?

"Yes, you did." Leroy says, a smile forming on his face when Quinn looks at him strangely. "You said that out loud." He clarifies.

The blonde nods and rubs at her neck. She wanted to hear the other contestants, she did. But then she remembered the way Rachel had said 'lover' to her earlier and it just ignited memories from the morning. A lazy smile pulls on her face as she remembers it again, only to once again be nudged. However, this time is by Hiram who had stretched across Leroy to do so.

"She's on." Hiram whispers when he receives Quinn's confused look.

Quinn smiles brightly and turns her attention to the stage, eagerly waiting for the curtains to open once again and reveal her girlfriend. Through all the weeks leading up to Regionals, Puck and Rachel had both refused to tell her what songs where in their set list. All Quinn got out of Rachel was that she would be singing a solo (obviously) and that she will have a solo in their group number.

It was during these weeks when Quinn began to hate how stubborn Rachel can be sometimes.

The crowd claps as the curtain opens to reveal Rachel standing on the stage with a mic sat in front of her.

"That's my girl." Leroy says, clapping loudly.

Quinn quickly hushes him, leaning forward in her seat as excitement flows through her.

Only the simple rhythm of a guitar is heard for a few beats before the drums come in. Almost immediately Quinn recognises the song.

Then, Rachel sings.

"_This ain't the kind of affair to make you dance about_  
_But there's something to say for the things_  
_You wouldn't regularly let out_  
_At least this chase makes you feel new"_

A bright smile appears on Quinn's face when Rachel looks over at her. She knows Rachel probably can't see her due to the lights, but she can't help but feel like Rachel just knows where to look for Quinn and her Dad's. After all, they are sitting in the front row.

"_She holds a key_  
_Tight in her hand_  
_Clutching his neck_  
_She is breaking the man_  
_Listen you sinner_  
_I'm sinning too_  
_Just wait until the darkness falls_  
_So I can sin with you"_

As Rachel goes into the next verse and chorus, Quinn thinks back to the day that she introduced Rachel to Gavin Degraw.

* * *

"_Quinn, just because this guy is from New York, does not mean I'm going to love his songs. Being a New Yorker doesn't make me love their music." Rachel huffs sitting on Quinn's bed with Gavin Degraw's CD case in her hands._

_Quinn chuckles and places the CD into her stereo before sitting down beside Rachel. "Just listen to the song okay, I'm sure you'll recognise it."_

_Rachel rolls her eyes, obviously not convinced by Quinn and just waits for the track to play. A smooth guitar riff plays out through the stereo along with a nice drum beat. Her eyebrows furrow in concentration as she listens to the song, trying to see if she has heard it before._

_Quinn watches Rachel throughout the entire song, trying to engage her reaction. However, Rachel's face is giving anything away and no recognition is sparkling in her eyes like Quinn though it would._

_By the end of it, Rachel opens her eyes and smiles at Quinn. "I love the song." Quinn smiles. "And he has a remarkable voice, but I don't remember hearing it at all."_

_Quinn rolls her eyes. "Oh come on. It was on the opening title sequences for One Tree Hill up to season 5!"_

_Rachel looks at Quinn blankly, the name going right over her head._

"_Have you ever watched One Tree Hill, Rach?"_

_Quinn gasps upon receiving a shake of the head from Rachel. "Okay, we're watching it." Quinn says getting up and grabbing her season 1 box set._

"_Why?"_

"_Because you have missed out on watching a very emotional and amazing show." Quinn replies, not taking no for an answer._

* * *

Quinn is once again brought out of her memory as Rachel comes to the bridge of the song. The voices of the New Directions start to join in with her.

"_So set out your plans_  
_Break down your walls_  
_Count what you're blessed with_  
_You've counted them all_  
_There's something to save_  
_But you have to search_  
_You might not believe_  
_But, believe me, it works,"_

The audience cheer as Rachel holds the note, a great big smile on her face as she does so. Slowly, the lights behind Rachel begin to fade up, introducing the New Directions standing behind Rachel to the audience. They begin to harmonize behind her.

"_Believe me it works, yes it does_

_She holds a key_  
_Tight in her hand_  
_Clutching his neck_  
_She is breaking the man_  
_Listen you sinner_  
_I'm sinning too_  
_Just wait until the darkness falls_  
_So I can sin with you_

_She holds a key_  
_Tight in her hand_  
_Clutching his neck_  
_She is breaking the man_  
_Listen you sinner_  
_I'm sinning too_  
_Just wait until the darkness falls_  
_So I can sin with you"_

When the song finishes and the stage goes dark, the audience, along with Quinn and the Berry men all stand and cheer. Quinn makes sure to clap and cheer the loudest for Rachel and refrains from shouting "that's my girl" so to not embarrass Rachel.

However, Leroy does not care about embarrassing Rachel and shouts it anyway, causing Quinn to laugh.

The audience finally sit down and stop cheering when the music for the next song plays.

(_Sam_/**New Direction Boys**/ _**ND Girls**_/ _**Rachel**_)

A light shines down on Sam as he starts to sing.

"_I thought of angels_  
_Choking on their halos_  
_Get them drunk on rose water_  
_See how dirty I can get them_  
_Pulling out their fragile teeth_  
_And clip their tiny wings"_

In time with the tempo, the lights behind Sam begin to flash onto each of one of the New Directions. Quinn rolls her eyes. It's so very Mr Schue.

"_Anything you say can and will be held against you_  
_So only say my name_  
_It will be held against you_  
_Anything you say can and will be held against you_  
_So only say my name"_

The stage goes dark when the music stops. Then, all at once, the lights flash on and the New Directions begin to the dance smoothly together. The boys are dancing on the right, their movement very robotic and aggressive whilst the girls dance on the left, their movements more fluid and elegant.

"**If heaven's grief brings hell's rain  
Then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday  
**_**(I know I'm bad news)**_  
**For just one yesterday**  
_**(I saved it all for you)**_**  
Oh, I want to teach you a lesson in the worst kind of way  
Still I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday  
**_**(I know I'm bad news)**_**  
For just one yesterday  
**_**(I saved it all for you)**_**  
For just one yesterday"**

As the group sing the next verse and chorus, Quinn keeps her eyes on Rachel. The brunette is moving so fluid and elegantly that she doesn't even look like she's touching the stage. She's dancing almost as good, if not better, than Brittany. Quinn can feel her face aching from how much she is smiling but she can't stop. Rachel looks so incredibly beautiful up on that stage with the lights shining down on her. Unlike Finn or Puck, Rachel isn't sweating. In fact, it doesn't even look like she's got even one bead of sweat on her.

Quinn jumps when Rachel gets extremely close to the edge of the stage and locks eyes with her. Quinn gulps as she can see straight up Rachel's skirt. She notices Rachel's lack of underwear and feels wetness form between her thighs. Rachel sends her a cheeky wink before spinning to the middle of the stage to sing her part.

Quinn's eyes never leave her.

"_**If I spilled my guts**_**  
**_**The world would never look at you the same way**_**  
**_**And now I'm here to give you all my love**_**  
**_**So I can watch your face as I take it all away, away, away, ay ay ay"**_

Sam comes up behind Rachel and places a hand on her shoulder as he sings back into the chorus. Rachel belts out a beautiful note as he does so and spins away from him and back to the girls.

As soon as their performance ends, Quinn is out of her seat and running to the green room.

Leroy and Hiram watch her go, both with identical expression on their faces.

"Honey." Leroy says, turning to face his husband. "Did you happen to see-"

"Under Rachel's skirt?"

"Yeah..."

"Yup." Hiram and Leroy continue to stare at each other, both wearing the same blank expression.

"...So I'm guessing you know what Quinn is-"

"Yup." Hiram replies shortly, not exactly wanting to talk about his precious baby in that way, or remember her lack of underwear.

Leroy just nods and purses his lips. He's going to have to have a little chat with Quinn and Rachel.

Quinn ignores the annoyed yells she gains from other people as she barges past them and doesn't even stop to help a guy who dropped his nachos when she ran into him. All she wants is her girlfriend and fast.

Quinn spots the New Directions happily walking back to their room, congratulating each other with hugs and high-fives. Quinn spots her girlfriend walking at the back with Ramona, both sharing a laugh over something Ramona said. Before Rachel can enter the room, Quinn grabs hold of her arm and pins her against the wall.

"Quinn?" Rachel says with slight shock.

Quinn doesn't answer her and instead begins to place hot open mouthed kisses along Rachel's neck. Not one to complain, Rachel happily allows Quinn to assault her neck.

"You were so hot up on that stage." Quinn mumbles against Rachel's neck as she begins to move them up to Rachel's jaw.

"Yeah?" Rachel breathes out.

"Yeah. I want you so bad. Especially after the peek you let me have up your skirt." Quinn's kisses move from Rachel's jaw to her earlobe. She sucks Rachel's earlobe into her mouth and nibbles on the skin.

Rachel chuckles, her hands fisting Quinn's hair. "I thought you'd like that." Rachel pushes Quinn away from her. Smiling innocently at Quinn's confused expression, she takes hold of the blonde's hand and begins to walk down the hallway, away from the groups green room.

"Where are we going?" Quinn asks, happily allowing Rachel to drag her down the hallway.

"I saw a storage cupboard on our way back from the stage."

Quinn smirks, knowing exactly what Rachel has in mind.

"We have thirty minutes." Rachel says once they approach the storage door. She opens it and turns round to Quinn.

"Let's make them worthwhile." Quinn says before Rachel grabs hold of her collar and pulls her into a kiss.

The blonde giggles as Rachel pulls her into the cupboard. Not wanting to break their kiss, Quinn kicks the door closed behind her.

* * *

**There's the chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it :D Tell me what you thought!**

**Songs: **_**She Holds A Key – Gavin Degraw**__**and Just One Yesterday – Fall Out Boy**_**. Oh and if you guys don't know, the song that plays during OTH opening credits is **_**I Don't Want To Be – Gavin Degraw**_**.**

**I seriously recommend checking out Gavin Degraw and his music, it's great! But I understand if you don't like him, he's not everyone's cup o' tea.**

**Thanks for reading!**

**xx**


	24. Chapter 24

**Hello readers! I'm sorry for the late update. I've been waiting for my Beta to get back to me but I have yet to hear from them and it's been about a week since I emailed them this chapter. So, I've decided to put this chapter up for you guys, I do apologize for any mistakes within the chapter.**

**Thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter!**

**Side note: The next update won't be for another two weeks as I am on holiday next week and won't be able to find any time to write a good enough chapter for you guys.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The halls of McKinley are silent. Not a single student is present. Not a single sound can be heard; not the sound of sneakers squeaking against the faded flooring, not the sound of a slushie being thrown at an unsuspecting Freshman and not the sound of distant echoes, echoes of those who once went to McKinley high school.

All students are in their classes, ready to learn. All teachers are in their classrooms, ready to teach their students knew information that may or may not help them in later life. Sue Sylvester is hidden in her office, writing in her diary. Her pen is as quiet as a mouse whilst she writes along strong lines. Principal Figgins is riffling through his paper work, desperately trying to sort through the school finances and meet the demands of Sue Sylvester. The crinkling of his papers are just a whisper in the quiet halls of McKinley.

Yes, no one could be seen or heard within the halls of McKinley. No one at all.

That is, until one small, messy brunette head poked out of the Janitor's closet and peeked around. The head cleared their throat before slowly stepping out of the closet, shortly followed by an equally as messy blonde head with a dopey smile and a rumpled shirt. The brunette turned to the dopey blonde and fixed the rumpled shirt and messy hair.

"We shouldn't have done that." The brunette says, her voice breaking the silence of McKinley.

The blonde only grins at the girl and pulls down the slightly pushed up skirt of the brunette. "I know." The blonde replies, taking a step towards the brunette.

The janitor closet's door closes softly behind them.

The brunette smirks up at the blonde. "But I don't regret it." She husks, matching the blonde's step with her own.

"Neither do I." The blonde says, her eyes locking onto the swollen and plump lips of the smaller girl.

"Good." The brunette growls before pulling the blonde down into a very heated and passionate kiss.

The blonde moans and begins to push the brunette back until they hit the row of lockers. She giggles against the smaller girl's lips and pulls their hips together.

The brunette breaks away. "We should get to class before we repeat what we did in there." She looks pointedly over the blonde's shoulder to the Janitor's closet. "Out here."

"Mmm, I think it would be sexy." The blonde husks, moving her lips to a tanned neck.

"It may be to you, but not to the student body or the teachers." Regrettably, the brunette pushes the blonde off of her and moves from the lockers.

"You're no fun." The blonde pouts and places her hands into her pockets.

"If you go to class, Quinn, I can show you how fun I can be at home." The brunette whispers with a wink before venturing down the hallway to her class.

Quinn's eyes follow the swaying of the brunette's hips and smiles. "You've turned into such a horndog Rachel Berry!" Quinn calls out to her.

Rachel only laughs in response and disappears round a corner.

* * *

When Rachel got home that day, Quinn eagerly following her, she was surprised to see her Fathers standing in the living room, waiting for the pair of them. The seductive smile on Rachel's face fell away as soon as she locked eyes with her Daddy and instead, a small unsure smile to its place.

Leroy's eyes darted between his daughter and his daughter's girlfriend with an eary calmness. He looked at Hiram who was scrutinizing the two girls with the exact same look. However, though their looks spoke calmness, their body language did not.

Rachel noticed how tensed both her Daddies were standing. Arms folded, shoulders tenses and legs together and completely straight. Rachel had never seen her Daddies looks so uptight.

"Dad? Daddy?" She attentively asks, releasing Quinn's hand and stepping closer to the two men. "What's going on?"

"Sit, Rachel." Leroy says calmly, his eyes hard.

"But-"

"Your father told you to sit, Rachel." Hiram says, the tone of his voice identical to Leroy's. Rachel slowly makes her way to the settee and sits herself down, looking at her parents in confusion.

Quinn looks between the two tensed men and gestures behind herself, not wanting to stay when it looks like the two men wish to have a stern talking to with their daughter. "I should-"

"You too, Quinn." Leroy says, his voice even.

Immediately, Quinn sits herself down next to Rachel, not wanting to argue with the tall and very intimidating man. The two men look at each other and with a nod to one another, both sit themselves down on the coffee table, hands resting on their legs.

"You two are probably wondering why we gathered you in here today." Leroy says, his voice calm. "We want to talk to you two about-"

"Sex." Hiram says bluntly, knowing his husband would try and beat around the bush.

Rachel and Quinn's eyes widen comically and blushes rise on their cheeks.

Leroy clears his throat awkwardly and nods. "Yes, sex. We know you too are-"

"Sexually active."

"Yes, thank you Hiram." Leroy says through gritted teeth, trying to rid himself of his baby girl doing such a grown up activity. "There's no point in trying to deny it." He says, looking at Rachel when he see her try to protest.

"We know there is no point in stopping you two from having..."

"Sex."

"...Sexual intercourse." Leroy continues on, ignoring his husband. "And we know you two are old enough to make your own decisions. But that does not mean we will allow you to have sexual intercourse whilst we are in the house. Your Dad and I do not wish to hear such things."

Quinn blushes darkly and directs her gaze to the carpet, becoming increasingly embarrassed. She glances at Rachel and notices the same determined look Rachel has in her eyes whenever she has an idea in Glee and tries to argue about it with Mr Schue. Quinn shifts uncomfortably when she feels a pool of wetness form between her legs.

"_Now is not the time"_ she scolds herself.

"That is why we wish to lay down some ground rules."

"No sex whilst we are here." Hiram says, his eyes darting to Quinn briefly before looking at his increasingly determined daughter.

"And that also includes if only one of us is here."

"When Quinn is here, there is an open door policy and we wish for you to stick to this."

"If we hear anything that we believe to be anything sexual, we will send Quinn back home."

"If sex is to take place, it must stay in the bedroom. No sex in the shared bathroom, living room and kitchen. In fact, no sex in any of the communal areas."

"If any of these rules are broken, Quinn will no longer be allowed to come over. The same rules apply to Judy's house. We've already spoken to Judy about them and she agrees."

Rachel stands up and stomps her foot on the floor. "This is absurd! Quinn and are nearly adults!"

"We know. That's why we are not stopping you from engaging in such activities-"

"Yes you are!"

"Only if we are in the home. You wouldn't like it if your father and I made love with you in the house, would you?"

At this, Rachel grimaces, as does Quinn and places her hands on her hips. "I should be allowed to close my bedroom door, I am entitled to my privacy."

"And you can. But only if Quinn is not in the house while we are. If she is, the door must stay open."

"Fine, then I demand that you and Dad keep your bedroom door open whilst I am in the house." Rachel replies defiantly.

Quinn watches the exchange between Rachel and her fathers with slight fear, but also arousal at her girlfriend becoming angry. She locks eyes with Leroy who gives her a look that says he knows what she's thinking and she looks away sheepishly, a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Hiram replies, aghast. "Your father and I are grown adults."

"So?"

"So, we are past the horny teenager stage of not being able to take our hands off each other for more than five minutes."

Rachel throws her hands up into the air. "This is ridiculous, why are you two entitled to more privacy than Quinn and I? If your only argument is because we are not Adults, then frankly, I do not wish to hear it." She turns to Quinn. "Come on, Quinn."

Quinn immediately stands from the settee and watches as Rachel storms to the front door. Quinn turns to the two Berry men and cowers slightly at the glare they are giving her. She swallows nervously. "I promise to abide by your rules, Mr Berry and Mr Berry. I also try to get Rachel to agree." She says with a weak smile.

Both men drop their tense poses and beam at Quinn. "There's no need for you to revert back to calling us Mr Berry, Quinn. We are still Hiram and Leroy to you." Leroy replies, standing up.

Quinn nods and goes to speak, only to have Rachel shout over her.

"Quinn!"

The blonde bids the two men a goodbye before rushing over to her angry girlfriend. Rachel grabs hold of her hand and marches the two of them over to Quinn's house.

"Is your Mum in?" She asks Quinn as the blonde goes to open the front door.

"No."

"Good."

Before Quinn can blink, Rachel charges through her house and drags Quinn up to her bedroom. Lips roughly attack Quinn's before the door even closes behind her and hands immediately travel to her ass.

"I can't believe them." Rachel growls against Quinn lips as she shrugs off Quinn's shirt. "Who do they think they are?" She asks, shoving Quinn down to sit on her bed before straddling her.

Quinn tries to grab Rachel's hands to stop her from continuing on. She knows Rachel is only doing this to get back at her parents and quite frankly, Quinn's not too comfortable with that. Rachel only bats her hands away, quietly mumbling she'll do it and proceeds to remove her shirt.

"The audacity they have to dictate what we can and can't do." Rachel growls and aggressively nips at Quinn's bottom lip.

"They do have a point, though Rach." Quinn says. The sentence causes Rachel to stop her actions and pull back to look at Quinn with an aghast expression.

"Are you defending them?" Rachel asks slowly, like she can't believe Quinn just said that.

Quinn bites her bottom lip, wincing slightly due to Rachel's aggressive movements and darts her eyes around the room nervously. She places her hands on Rachel's hips to stop her from moving away.

"Yes." Quinn says with absolute. "Yes I am. I understand where they are coming from, Rachel. They don't want to hear their little girl having sex or walk in on her either engaging or almost engaging in such activity."

"I can't believe you." Rachel huffs and wiggles as she tries to remove herself from Quinn's lap. Quinn only tightens her hold.

"Listen to me, Rachel." Quinn pleads, trying to catch Rachel's eye. "Wouldn't you feel the exact same if we knew our child was having sex? I know I would. I wouldn't want to hear our little boy or girl having sex with their boyfriend or girlfriend. I'd be traumatized."

Rachel pauses in her wiggling to stare at Quinn with wide, teary eyes. Her mouth hangs open as she stares at Quinn unblinkingly.

"What's wrong?" Quinn asks, starting to panic when she sees the tears in Rachel's eyes. "Did I say something wrong?" Quinn puts a loose strand of brunette hair behind Rachel's ear and cups her cheek. "I'm sorry, Baby, I didn't know this would upset you so much."

Rachel shakes her head and locks her hands round Quinn's neck. She beams at Quinn, her tears falling freely. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

The brunette bites her lip to contain her smile. "You said '_our_ child'"

A smile breaks out onto Quinn's face when her mind finally catches up with her mouth. She pulls Rachel closer to her body and hugs her tight. "Yeah, I did."

A giggle passes Rachel's lips. "You want to have children with me?"

"Someday, yeah." Quinn whispers, becoming shy under Rachel's loving gaze. "And someday, I wish to marry you and call you my wife."

"You've thought about that?"

Quinn nods and presses a light kiss to Rachel's lips. "Yeah. I've also thought about how I'm going to propose, what ring to get, what our first home together is going to be, everything. I know we are only eighteen years old, but I can see that you are the person I want to spend the rest of my life with."

A squeal escapes Rachel's lips before she's tackling Quinn backwards so she's lying on the mattress and pressing kisses all over the blonde's face. Quinn only laughs before she feels Rachel press her lips against Quinn's. The kiss is only lips against lips, but yet it holds the same amount of love and passion all of the couple's past kisses have held.

"I love you so much." Rachel says once she pulls back from Quinn.

Quinn grins at her. "I love you too."

* * *

"Quinnie! You have mail!"

The sound of her Mother calling her rouses Quinn from her peaceful slumber. She lifts her head off her pillow and peers around the room. Her eyes land on her girlfriend who's already awake and smiling at her. Quinn grins and places a kiss on Rachel's forehead.

"Good morning." Rachel says, her hand running up and down Quinn's arm softly.

Quinn smiles at her again before shuffling out of the bed. She throws on some pyjama shorts and t-shirt. "I'm just grabbing my mail." She says when Rachel grabs hold of her arm and pulls her back to the bed.

"No, stay." Rachel husks, her eyes dark.

Quinn chuckles at Rachel. "We've been having sex literally non-stop for three weeks and you aren't tired yet?"

"You have seen yourself right?" Rachel asks, a flirty smile on her face.

"I could say the same thing." Quinn winks and kisses Rachel before pulling away and making her way downstairs.

Judy looks up at the sound of Quinn coming down the stairs and grins. She bounces towards her daughter and hands her two envelopes. One is thicker than the other.

Quinn grabs the envelopes and eyes her mother warily. She opens the first envelope and takes out its contents. She smiles when she sees it's the CD Rachel recorded. Judy is literally buzzing with excitement and it's making Quinn feel frightened. She looks at her mother in confusion.

"What are you so excited about? It's just a CD."

Judy shakes her head. "Look at the second one."

Quinn does so and when she reads the front of the envelope, her heart literally jumps into her throat. Quinn sits herself down on the stairs and stares numbly at the envelope in her hands. She hears Rachel walking down the stairs behind her.

"I was wondering what's taking you so long." Rachel says. When neither Quinn nor Judy answer, Rachel becomes worried. "What's wrong?"

The younger blonde merely shakes her head. "Nothing." She says, her voice horse.

"OSU have replied to Quinn!" Judy says, a great big smile on her face.

Rachel's face brightens excitedly. "What are you waiting for? Open it!"

Quinn shakes her head. "No. Not yet. I'm going to wait for my NYADA letter to arrive and then I'm going to open them with the one person I really want to be with me."

Rachel and Judy look at each other, knowing exactly who Quinn is talking about and nod. Rachel kisses Quinn's cheek. "Do you need any help with breakfast, Judy?" she asks, getting up from the stairs.

"Oh yes dear, that would be very helpful, thank you." Judy says. Both blondes watch the brunette walk into the kitchen before the older blonde speaks. "I think that's very sweet of you Quinn, your father would have wanted to be here."

Quinn smiles weakly at her Mum and grabs hold of the CD. She goes to walk into the kitchen, only to be stopped by Judy.

"If it's not too much trouble, would you mind if I joined you?" Judy asks.

Quinn nods. "Of course you can Mum."

Judy beams at Quinn. "Oh and would you be able to help me with the shop on the 22nd? I need an extra pair of hands to help move things about."

"Yeah, sure."

"Excellent! Now, let's cook you some bacon!"

* * *

Quinn sighs as she looks around the choir room in boredom. Mr Schue is once again talking about the importance of team work and being a family. Quinn's really starting to wonder why she agreed to coming back.

A hand on her thigh brings her out of her musings. She looks at Rachel who's buzzing with excitement and slight irritation.

Oh yeah, that's why.

To make her girlfriend happy. Truth be told, Quinn has missed the glee club. Outside of this room, she only really saw a few of them regularly. What she definitely hasn't missed, however, is Mr Schue's inspirational speeches which are not very inspirational.

Quinn looks at her girlfriend once again. She can tell that Rachel is just itching to speak up and inform the unprepared teacher that they need to look at a set list for Nationals. Quinn takes hold of the hand that s resting on her thigh, grabbing Rachel's attention.

"Just tell him." She whispers.

Rachel bites her lip and shakes her head. Quinn's eyes move to the rapidly bouncing leg and she raises an eyebrow.

"You're dying to."

Rachel whines under her breath and leans into Quinn, her body sagging like she had used all of her energy to stop herself from speaking up. Quinn only smiles and wraps her arm around Rachel's shoulder. She catches Santana's eye from over Rachel's shoulder. Santana pretends to stick her fingers down her throat and smirks at Quinn. Quinn just rolls her eyes and tunes back into what Mr Schue is saying.

"...That's why I have volunteered for us to sing at the Senior Prom in three weeks!" He announces with a giant smile.

The glee club begin to chat excitedly with each other, finding the idea of performing at Prom to be really fun and something new.

"What day is Prom on?" Quinn asks Rachel.

"Friday."

"That's the 21st right?"

Rachel shakes her head and presses a kiss to Quinn's cheek. "No, the 22nd. I need to start looking for a dress." Rachel says, her eyes now glowing with excitement. She immediately bounces from Quinn's arms and takes out her cell phone to call Kurt and Mercedes.

When Rachel informs Quinn of the date, all colour drains from Quinn's face. Prom is on the 22nd. Judy has asked Quinn to help with the shop that same day. Quinn needs to inform Rachel she won't be able to go to prom with her.

Shit.

* * *

**Thank you for reading!**

**xx**


	25. Chapter 25

**Here's the next chapter! Thank you for being so patient with the update and thank you for the reviews.**

**I don't own the song used in this chapter.**

* * *

"You are being completely unfair!"

Judy huffs and places down the flowers she was sorting out. She glares at her daughter across the counter and wipes her hands on her apron. "I don't see how."

"You won't let me go to my Senior Prom!"

"You made a promise, Quinn. You promised me you would help out with the florist shop. A Fabray never breaks their promise."

Quinn rubs a hand over her eye in frustration. She huffs angrily and places her hands on her hips. She was really hoping this didn't happen. She just wanted to have her Mum allow her to go to her Senior Prom with her girlfriend.

"I know! But this is the last ever High School Prom I will get Mum. And it's with my first serious girlfriend!"

Judy sighs and sits down on a nearby stool in exasperation. "I know that sweetheart. But you made a promise. When have your Father and I ever broken a promise made to you?"

Quinn deflates at Judy's words. She, too, also sits down. Her fingers lazily run over the daisy petals resting on the kitchen counter. "You haven't." She admits. She knew she lost this battle as soon as she brought it up. But Quinn's stubborn and wasn't going to back down without a fight.

"Exactly. Now, have you told Rachel yet?"

"No."

"Prom is a week away Quinn, you need to tell her."

Quinn rubs the back of her neck and nods. "I know, but I'm scared. What if she hates me for it? This would have been the first Prom she'll attend with an actual date."

"I'm sure Rachel will understand."

Quinn focuses her attention on the daisies sitting on the counter top. She gently pulls off one of the petals and sighs softly. "I hope so."

* * *

Quinn cowers into a corner as her girlfriend charges towards her, her face red with anger. She can see the hint of tears forming at the corner of Rachel's eyes and her heart breaks for her.

"You can't go!" Rachel shouts, pointing a finger in Quinn's face. "You're telling me one week before Prom that you can't go!"

Quinn whimpers and steps backwards. She trips on a stool and stumbles into the corner. She quickly catches herself. "I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough!" Rachel screams. "Why are you telling me now? Are you ashamed to be seen with me?"

Rachel's hands begin to scratch at her nose. Quinn's eyes widen at the action and she immediately stops being frightened. Rachel hasn't scratched at her face or hands in months, and now, because of Quinn, her insecurities are coming back.

Quinn rushes forward and grabs hold of Rachel's hands. "No of course I'm not!" She exclaims. "I love you so much Rachel, I can't believe you would even think that."

Rachel sniffs and removes her hands from Quinn's grip. "Can you blame me? You're the most beautiful girl in school, Quinn and I was so excited that I got to go to Prom with you, not the cheerleader, or the jocks but me. Boring old, obnoxious and loud Rachel Berry. And now you tell me you're telling me you can't go. It hurts, Quinn."

"I'm sorry." Quinn whispers. She steps towards Rachel cautiously. Happy that the girl didn't step away from her, Quinn pulls Rachel in her arms and places her chin on top of Rachel's head. She her feels Rachel's tears seep into her shirt and her heart only break further for her girlfriend.

"I want you to remember something, Rach. Never, ever will I be ashamed to be seen with you. I will proudly walk down this hallway and through these streets with your hand in mine. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, okay?"

She feels Rachel nod against her shirt.

"The reason I can't go is because I'm helping Mum out with her florist. It's her opening the next day and she needs me to help her sort through the shop."

Rachel pulls back from Quinn. "Are you telling the truth?"

"I am."

Rachel chuckles and wipes at her eyes. "I feel so stupid."

"You're not stupid. I was stupid by not telling you sooner. I'm so sad I won't get to see you in your surely beautiful dress."

"I'm sad I won't get to see you looking beautiful as ever." Rachel says, grabbing hold of Quinn's hands.

Quinn smiles. "I'm sure Puck will love to walk into that room with you on his arm. You'll be the prettiest girl there." Quinn pulls Rachel closer to her and releases their hands to place her own on Rachel's hips. "Though, to me, you are always the prettiest girl." She says, smiling sweetly at Rachel.

Rachel blushes and giggles shyly at Quinn's comments. She presses a soft kiss to Quinn's lips. "I'll go ask Puck." Rachel says, a smile gracing her features before she skips away from Quinn's arms.

Rachel pauses by the door and turns to Quinn. "Oh, I almost forgot." She skips back over to Quinn and kisses her again. "I love you too." She whispers before bouncing away once again.

* * *

"I've been thinking."

"That's new." Quinn says dryly as she flicks through the channels on their TV.

"Don't mouth off to me Young Lady, you're not too young to be grounded." Judy scolds.

"Sorry."

Judy nods and sits down. "As I was saying, I've been thinking about the whole Prom thing."

Quinn switches off the TV and gives Judy her full attention. "What about it?"

"I was a little harsh on you. It's not fair for me to keep you from having your senior prom."

"You're letting me go?" Quinn asks, becoming excited.

"No." Judy says, causing Quinn to deflate. "But, I you can still have your prom...here. In our backgarden. We can have fairy lights and music and punch and you and Rachel can have your first dance together as a proper couple at your own private prom."

There's silence.

Until Quinn lets out a loud squeal and jumps into her Mum's arms. "That's an amazing idea, Mum! Rachel's going to absolutely love it!"

"I don't think we should inform Rachel of this, we should leave it as a surprise. We'll leave the shop at ten and hopefully, together, we can set it all up in time for Rachel."

"How are we going to do this?" Quinn asks, her excitement coming back. She gets off Judy's lap and sits back down on the settee.

"Well, we're going to need a little help."

* * *

Quinn awkwardly approaches Puck's locker, her eyes fixed on the wall behind his head. He hasn't noticed yet, his eyes locked on his history book as he tries to figure out when he took History.

"Hey."

Puck looks up from his book and looks over at Quinn in shock. He slowly places his book back and shuts his locker. "Oh, Hey Quinn."

"I was wondering if I could ask you something."

"Sure."

"At Prom on Friday, I need you to distract Rachel until 11:55. If she becomes bored, get her to dance more, if she asks to come home, refuse. However, when it's 11:55, you have to take her away from Prom and give her strict instructions to knock on my door. Drag her out kicking and screaming if you have to."

"Okay."

Quinn looks at him in surprise. "You're not going to question it?"

Puck shrugs with a smile. "I figured if you're so hell-bent on getting her to your house at such a specific time, it must be for a good reason."

"Thank you. I couldn't ask Finn-I don't trust him to not try anything with her."

"Even after he apologised?"

Quinn nods, a small smile gracing her features. "He may have apologised, but I know he's not over Rachel. It's hard to try and fall out of love with her-trust me, I've been unintentionally trying for year." With that, Quinn saunters off to her lesson, leaving Puck standing with a soft, happy smile on his face.

* * *

**Prom Night – Outside the Berry Residence - 8:00**

Puck shifts awkwardly on the Berry doorstep. He holds a Gardenia corsage in his hand, an item Quinn told him to get specifically. His hand plays with his purple tie, loosening the tight hold it has on his neck a little. Satisfied with his now loosened tie, Puck knocks on the solid door in front of him.

The door swiftly opens, revealing the two Berry men. Leroy glares at Puck, his arms crossed tightly over his chest in an intimidating way. Puck gulps slightly, feeling slightly scared under the taller man's hard gaze.

"Hey Mr Berry and Mr Berry."

"Hello Noah, Rachel's just finishing." Hiram replies with a smile.

Judy informed both the Berry Men of her and Quinn's plan and quite frankly, he's ecstatic and extremely happy that Puck is helping out. He's also happy that her gets to help out as well. Both he and Leroy are under strict instructions from Judy to not allow Rachel in their home if she disobeys Puck and to direct her to the Fabray garden. Leroy's just as excited, but like every father, he just wants to intimidate Puck.

Leroy doesn't give Puck a greeting. IN fact, his gaze seems to deepen at Hiram's greeting towards the mohawked boy.

"Daddy, you've known Noah since we were in first grade, no need to intimidate him." Rachel says, moving her Daddy away from the scared Puck. She silently scolds her larger father and finally turns to Puck with a smile.

Puck's mouth falls open at Rachel's elegant, strapless pink dress. "Whoa." He breathes out. "If you weren't with Q, I would so be jumping-" Puck stops his sentence at the glare Leroy sends over Rachel's shoulder.

Rachel only giggles. "Thank you, Noah. You don't look to bad yourself."

Puck's fear evaporates at Rachel's words and his trademark smug smile pulls up onto his face. "Babe, I look smoking." He says with a teasing smile.

He glances down at the corsage in his hand and holds it out to Rachel. "A little 'I'm sorry' present from Quinn." He says, placing the corsage on Rachel's hand.

Rachel grins and steps out onto the porch. "Thank you."

Puck smiles and holds out his arm to Rachel. "Shall we?" He asks, sweeping his free arm out dramatically.

"Have fun!" Hiram calls out, whilst Leroy stays silent. Rachel waves goodbye to her fathers as Puck takes her over to a Limo that Quinn had hired out.

As soon as the duo are out of sight, Leroy breaks his stance and instantly brightens. He closes the door and turns to his husband with a beaming smile that rivals that of his daughter's.

"Rachel is going to love tonight!" He says excitedly, following Hiram into the living room.

Hiram chuckles. "Indeed she will. If she doesn't, then we'll slap some sense into her. Quinn definitely knows how to woo a woman."

* * *

**Judy's Florist Shop – 9:00**

Quinn groans as she turns another page of the large stack of paper work that Judy placed in front of her. She rubs tiredly at her eyes and begins to sign the bottom of the page. She can feel her hand slowly start to cramp up, but doesn't stop. They need to finish this all by 10:00 and Quinn's only gotten a quarter of the way through.

"I don't understand why I need to sign this." Quinn calls out to Judy who's in the back room, sorting through their stock.

Judy sits crossed legged on the floor, frowning at the box sat in front of her. A price sticker machine rests loosely in her hand as she examines the box with the many vases they will have to sale along with the flowers.

"This is not the right box." Judy mutters to herself. She pushes the box away with her feet and tugs over another.

"Mum!"

"What?" Judy grins when she opens up the box and finds the correct vases in there. She begins to remove them from the box and place them carefully on the floor.

"I don't understand why I have to sign all of this."

"It's just in case something happens to me." She calls back.

With a excited grin, Judy begins to place the price stickers on the vases. She soon figures out that she can make her own little tune with the sticker machine. Before she knows it, she's placed stickers on stock boxes she has yet to open.

"What would happen if that does...happen?"

Judy jumps at how close Quinn is to her, not having noticed Quinn huffing and getting up from her place at the table. She spins round on her bum to face her daughter. At Quinn's questioning looks as her hazel eyes dart over the wrongly priced boxes, Judy grins sheepishly.

"I got carried away..."

"I can see that."

"What the papers say is that if anything does happen to me then you'll get full ownership of the shop. However, if you wish to, you can higher whoever you like to care for the shop whilst you're having fun in New York with Rachel and excelling in your dream."

Judy gets up from the floor, wincing at the pin and needles tingling in her foot. She twists her hip, sighing when she hears a satisfying click of her back.

"You really think I'll go to New York with Rachel?" Quinn asks, feeling slightly insecure.

Judy grins. "I know so. I also know that even if you didn't - which wouldn't happen – you would follow that girl to the edge of the earth and back."

Quinn grins sheepishly. "That's true."

"Of course it is, I said it. I only ever speak of the truth."

Quinn rolls her eyes at her Mum and follows her out of the stock room. "Oh how can I forget."

* * *

**McKinley Gymnasium – 9:30**

Puck, along with the rest of the student body, claps loudly when Rachel finishes her song and leaves the stage. She's positively buzzing with excitement...or alcohol. Puck's not entirely sure because he doesn't know exactly when Santana spiked the punch bowl. He grins from his seat at their table as he watches Rachel make her way over to him. She sits down in the seat beside him and sighs happily.

"Having fun Jewbabe?" Puck asks, turning to look at the tiny Diva.

"I am." After a second, Rachel's smile falls. She traces her finger over the pattern on the table cloth. "I wish Quinn was here."

"I know." Puck replies. He looks out to the dancing teenagers, chuckling at Sam attempting to do the robot whilst Joe headbangs, his dreads swishing about everywhere and hitting a few girls in the face. Just as Puck is about to ask Rachel to dance with, a figre looms over the small girl.

"Hey Rach."

Rachel looks up from the table top. She smiles weakly. "Hi Finn."

Puck watches closely as Finn seems to glance around the gym, as if he's looking for someone. He hasn't seemed to have noticed Puck sitting right beside Rachel.

"Is Quinn not here?" The tall boy asks.

"No, unfortunately. Judy needed help with the floral shop."

Finn's features seem to light up at Rachel's words. "Oh, that's too bad." He says, don't he looks far from sympathetic.

Puck's eyes narrow up at the large boy. What is he playing at?

"So I was wondering if you uh wanted to have a dance with me?" Finn asks. "Just as friends, of course." He says, placing a hand on Rachel's shoulder.

Puck notices the way Rachel eyes Finn's hand uncomfortably and how she subtly shifts to try and shake his hand off. Puck also notices the hopeful look in Finn's eyes and just knows that Finn's intentions are far from innocent. He quickly glances down at his watch and sighs.

9:35

He still needs to keep her here.

Getting out of his seat, Puck situates himself between Finn and Rachel, causing Finn's hand to fall from Rachel's shoulder.

"Sorry man, Rachel's dancing with me."

"How about the next song then?" Finn asks Rachel as he looks around Puck's body.

"Sorry again Dude, she's still going to be dancing with me. In fact, Rachel and I will be dancing together all night, won't we Rach?"

"Uh-"

"You can't control her." Finn interrupts Rachel, glaring at Puck.

Puck grins. "But I can. I have strict instructions from her _girlfriend_ to keep Rachel entertained all night and in my books, that includes dancing.

"Come on Man, I'm only asking for one dance."

"You said to Quinn that you will back off. This isn't backing off." Puck says slowly. "Go dance with someone else."

Finn looks between Puck and Rachel before growling in frustration and moving away from the two of them.

Rachel stares at Puck and sighs. "It wouldn't have hurt to let him have one dance." Rachel says.

"Yes it would. That would make him think that he has a shot of getting back together with you. It's best to just ignore him, Rach." He holds out his hand to Rachel. "Now, how about we dance."

* * *

**The Fabray House – 10:00**

As soon as Judy pulls into the driveway, Quinn is out of the car and at the trunk. She quickly removes the fairy lights they brought earlier and rushes into the house after her mother. Judy rushes around the home, trying to make it tidy whilst Quinn runs to the back garden.

"Mum, stop cleaning and come help me!" Quinn calls out. Quinn begins to remove the fiary lights from the box. However, they are all tangled up like a bitch and Quinn ends up getting herself tangled up in them.

"Mum!" She calls out again, hearing the faint clutter of pots and pans.

Judy rushes out, saying fast apologies before getting to work on helping Quinn. Together, they both manage to untangle the fairy lights and lie them out across the grass.

"Where are they going to go?" Quinn asks.

"Where we planned. We'll just have to hook them onto something to keep them from falling."

Quinn nods and the both get to work on picking up the fairy lights without tangling them again. Slowly, they move to the first corner of the garden and hook the lights through a wall mounted plant pot. Grabbing one end, Quinn begins to walk backwards, threading the fairy lights through the gap of the plant pot.

Once done with that corner, they begin to work their way around the rest of the garden. When the lights are threaded through the final plant pot, Judy goes to plug the lights in, only to have come up short. The plug won't go as far as five feet.

As soon as Judy lets go of the plug, they are presented with another dilemma.

The fairy lights fall from their places and hit the ground with a soft 'thump'. Both Quinn and Judy groan and rub the back of their necks.

"We're going to need a new plan."

"Yup."

* * *

**McKinley gymnasium – 11:50**

Puck looks down at his phone as it vibrates in his hand. He smiles when it lights up with a text message from Quinn. With growing excitement, Puck opens up the message.

_**We're finished – Q**_

Puck quickly types out a message and then pockets his phone. He looks for Rachel within the crowd of dancing students and spots her dancing with Brittany. Puck catches movement in the corner of his eyes and spots Finn sitting at a table with the date he brought with him, scowling whilst watching Rachel dance with her friends.

Puck walks over to Rachel, ignoring Finn's glares and taps the girl on the shoulder. Rachel stops her dancing to turn to look at Puck.

"We've got to go." He says.

"Why?"

"Your curfew is in Ten minutes." He lies.

Rachel's eyes widen and she nods. She says goodbye to Brittany and follows him through the crowd and out the door. She's shocked to see the limo still there and quickly follows him. Puck doesn't say anything to her and instead, places his hand inside his dinner jacket, fishing around for something.

"Oh no!" Rachel gasps suddenly, cuasing Puck to quickly drop his hand from his pocket and turn to Rachel in alarm.

"What?"

"We're going to miss who won Prom King and Queen."

Puck chuckles and goes back to searching through his pocket. He grins when his hand latches on the letter. "Trust me Rach, you won't care about that in a few minutes." He says, gaining a strange look from Rachel. He holds out the letter to Rachel as they limo pulls to a stop in front of...Quinn's house?

Rachel looks from the letter to Puck's face. "What's this?"

"Just take it." She does as he says. " Don't read it until you get to Quinn's front door."

"Why are we at Quinn's-"

"Don't ask questions. Just do."

Rachel nods, a grin pulling onto her face. There's something turning in her gut and she can't help but feel that it's a positive feeling. She quickly gets out of the limo and walks over to Quinn's front door. She looks behind her and watches the limo pull away from the house and away to Puck's house.

Rachel turns back to the door and looks down at the letter in her hands. Biting her lip, she folds open the letter and begins to read it eagerly, giggling when she recognises the handwriting.

_Dear Rachel,_

_As you have probably guessed, this night is not ending just yet. If you wish for the night to continue, turn to your left and take three steps forward to the gate to my backyard. Once at the gate, open the gate and walk forward. I will be waiting._

_Always yours,_

_Quinn_

_P.S You look beautiful._

Giggling in excitement, Rachel practically runs into the garden. She stops at the sight before her.

Fairy lights hang up around the garden, wrapping around any obstacle they come to and light up the grass with a soft golden glow. On a table by the tree house sits a stereo playing soft music with two cups filled with what Rachel assumes to be punch. The porch has been completely cleared of the tables and chairs to give room for dancing. Lanterns hang from various branches of various trees, giving them an extra glow.

Then she finally spots her girlfriend.

She was hidden from sight when Rachel first rushed into the garden, but now she can clearly see her. Light perfectly by the fairy lights, Quinn stands by the stereo dressed in a very dashing suit. Rachel didn't know this before, but now that she's seen her in one, Rachel really like the way a suit looks on Quinn. She's sexy, elegant and yet still feminine. Her hair has been styled to sweep over her right shoulder and her makeup is light and natural.

Quinn grins at Rachel, causing butterflies to erupt in the diva's stomach.

"Did you do this?" Rachel asks, gesturing to the garden.

Quinn chuckles. "Maybe."

"It's beautiful, Quinn."

"Not as beautiful as you." Quinn softly declares, her eyes never leaving her girlfriend. Rachel goes to talk more, but Quinn puts her hand up, stopping Rachel in her tracks. With her soft gaze still locked on Rachel, Quinn presses a button the stereo and the track changes. A very familiar piano riff begins to play.

Quinn walks over to Rachel and takes hold of her hand. Rachel's eyes widen when she hears her own voice play through the stereo. A gasp escapes her lips at the realisation that this is the song she recorded.

_"I hung up the phone tonight_

_Something happened for the first time_

_Deep inside it was a rush, what a rush  
'Cause the possibility_

_That you would ever feel the same way_

_About me, is just too much, just too much"_

_Without saying a word, Quinn pulls Rachel close to her and places her left hand on Rachel's waist and Rachel's right hand on her shoulder. She begins to softly sway the two of them side to side, singing the lyrics that she wrote for Rachel, the lyrics to the song she gave to Rachel, into Rachel's ear._

_"Why do I keep running from the truth?_

_All I ever think about is you_

_You got me hypnotized, so mesmerized_

_And I just got to know"_

Quinn suddenly begins to move the two of them into a waltz. Rachel quickly catches on and begins to sing with Quinn, along with her own voice as they dance around the garden under the golden lighting.

_"Do you ever think when you're all alone_

_All that we can be, where this thing can go?_

_Am I crazy or falling in love?_

_Is it really just another crush?"_

Quinn spins Rachel out of her arms, causing a giggle to fall from Rachel's mouth. Quinn then pulls Rachel back to her, this time she presses her front against Rachel's back and wraps her arms around Rachel's waist and sways them side to side before moving them into the same positions from before.

_"Do you catch a breath when I look at you?_

_Are you holding back like the way I do?_

_'Cause I've tried and tried to walk away_

_But I know this crush ain't going away-ay-ay_

_Going away-ay-ay"_

As the song continues to play, the two girls just hold each other and sway. Rachel rests her head on Quinn's shoulder and sighs contently. She could spend the rest of her life like this with Quinn, here dancing in her girlfriend's arms, during their Senior Prom in a beautifully lit garden and their song playing. It's perfect.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we just stay here together forever?"

Rachel feels Quinn chuckle against her ear. "We have to get to New York first, baby."

"We will. I can feel it."

Quinn smiles and presses a kiss to Rachel's head. The song ends and goes onto the next track that Quinn burned onto the CD.

"Quinn?" Rachel says softly.

"Yeah?"

"When did you right that song?"

Quinn pulls back from Rachel to look at her face as they continue to sway together. "I started writing it after the first Soccer Game I won for McKinley. I had noticed you sat in the stands with your Dad's as they screamed and clapped along with the crowd. But you, you were just sat there, quietly watching me."

"Whilst I watched you watch me, I felt this feeling of butterflies in my stomach. When I got home, the first thing I did was grab my song book and write. I thoughts nothing of it at the time, I was just writing, but looking back...I guess deep down I always knew my true feeling for you but I was just too afraid to admit it."

Rachel smiles softly at Quinn, her eyes screaming her love for the blonde girl. She doesn't say anything, she only studies the beautiful girl in front of her. She realises in this moment why she fell in love with Quinn. Not only is she the most beautiful girl she has ever seen, but she is also kind, caring, loving, funny, thoughtful and lots of other positive attributes. How can someone listen to what Quinn has just told her and not fall in love with her? This girl is perfect in so many ways and Rachel feels like such an idiot for not realising earlier on just how much she loves her. She feels like an idiot for running away from her feelings for Quinn, for being scared about these feelings. For so long she ran and for so long she went without receiving and giving love to this wonderful human being.

"What's got you so smiley?" Quinn asks.

"You." Rachel whispers. She leans up and slowly connects their lips. She lets Quinn's tongue battle with her own for a while before pulling away and placing her head back on Quinn's shoulder.

"I love you, Quinn."

"I love you too, Rachel."

* * *

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter guys and thank you for reading. Song used is 'Crush' by David Archuleta.**

**xx**


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